- Ganges Grandmasters team emerged as champions
- Nepomniachi took advantage of Karlsson's mistake
- Defeated the defending champions Alpine Pipers to win their first title
Pune/Chess: top of the world chessThe 'Ganges Grandmasters' won their first ever Global Chess League (GCL) title after Ian Nepomniacci capitalized on an unexpected mistake by partner Magnus Carlsen to a sensational victory. The Ganges Grandmasters defeated the defending champions 'Alpine Pipers' in a very tight final. The tournament held in Bengaluru was jointly organized by 'Tech Mahindra' and the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
The Ganges Grandmasters won the final, which was played in two stages, with a margin of 7-5. In the first leg, both the teams were tied 3-3. However, in the second phase, the Ganges players played aggressively and tilted the match in their favor. On the other hand, in the third place match, the 'American Gambits' team defeated the 'Mumba Masters' team by a margin of 7.5-4.5 to clinch the bronze medal.
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Ganges dominated the final match
The fourth season of the Global Chess League turned out to be very intense. All six participating teams were in contention for the semi-finals at the end of the eighth round. Mumba Masters' victory over Gambits in the penultimate match of the league round eased Pipers' entry into the finals. However, they could not overcome the Ganges Grandmasters who reached the finals with the top position in the points table.
Carlson's blunder and Solaskidau's victory
The nature of the match in the finals was completely different from that of the league rounds. Players playing with black pawns have a 4 to 3 lead against white pawns. After a 3-3 draw in the first leg, the Pipers had a great chance to retain the title; Because Carlson was playing in a strong position on the first court.
But, in the deciding game against Nepomniachi, Carlson made a big blunder in the 28th move. After this mistake he had no chance to recover. At the same time, Stavru Solaskidau sealed the historic Ganges title by defeating India's Koneru Hampi.
Earlier, Levon Aronian made an aggressive start against Anish Giri in the first innings, but he was denied the victory due to time constraints at the end of the 49th over. On the other side, while the fights on the other sides ended in a draw, Volodyar Murzin won in 49 moves against Luke Leon Mandonka to give the Pipers a 3-3 draw in the first round.
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Personal awards and accolades
Final Match Criteria: Ian Nepomnia (Ganges Grandmasters)
Best Player of the Tournament: Stavrula Solaskidau (Ganges Grandmasters) – 21.5 points from 12 matches with 6 wins and 3 draws (Glory with Java Cruiser bike).
Undefeated Players: Harika Dronavalli (Mumba Masters) – The only player to remain unbeaten in the entire tournament scoring 18.5 points with 4 wins and 8 draws in 12 matches.
3rd place match criteria: Nihal Sarin (American Gambits).
After the victory, Nepomniachi said, “I was fully prepared to play with the black pawns. When playing against Carlsen, you can't do anything other than expect someone to make a mistake; today Carlsen made that mistake and I got lucky. However, this success is a result of a team effort.”