PBG Alaskan Knights lost 7-9 against Alpine SG Pipers, but stayed in the lead after Round 6 of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL) being played in London. They have 15 points and the gap between them and the other teams has reduced. Triveni Continental Kings and Alpine SG Pipers are on 12 each.
It was not a bad day for the Indian players. Of the nine in the fray across the six teams, Vidit Gujrathi, D Harika and Nihal Sarin posted wins. Viswanathan Anand, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, R Vaishali andRaunakSadhwanidrew their respective games. Koneru Humpy was the lone one to suffer a defeat.
Wins secured by Hou Yifan and Kateryna Lagno helped Alpine SG Pipers prevail over PBG Alaskan Knights. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa and Richard Rapport had drawn their games on the top three boards. Hou, the women’s World No. 1 in the classical format, and Kateryna scored vital points for their team. Nihal’s win on Board 6 against Daniel Dardha was a bit too late for the Knights.
The team featuring Anand got a much-needed win. Ganges Grandmasters outplayed American Gambits 10-4 to move to the fourth position on the table with six points. Anand drew with Hikaru Nakamura, Erigaisi split the points against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, while Vaishali was held by Bibisara Assaubayeva. The crucial wins came from Nurgyul Salimov and Volodar Murzin on the last two boards.
Triveni Continental Kings won a vital match against Mumba Masters, who have the maximum Indian representation of four. It was a close affair and the Kings won with a scoreline of 10-8. Alireza Firouzja and Alexandra Kosteniuk won their games 4-0, against Anish Giri and Humpy, respectively. This proved decisive. The Mumba wins — Vidit against Wei Yi and Harika versus Valentina Gunina — came with 3-0 margins. Raunak drew on the last and sixth board, which meant Mumba Masters lost this round.
Standings after Round 6
PBG Alaskan Knights 15
Triveni Continental Kings 12
Alpine SG Pipers 12
Ganges Grandmasters 6
American Gambits 6
Mumba Masters 3
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