Global Chess League Day 3: Four teams share the lead after Triveni and Mumbai suffer first losses
After three exciting days at the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, the title race is wide open. No team remains undefeated anymore.
Day 3 brought major twists. The two unbeaten teams, Triveni Continental Kings and upGrad Mumbai Masters, both lost their first matches of the season.
Fyers American Gambits defeated Triveni by 10–8 in a thrilling encounter decided on the prodigy board. At the same time, Alpine SG Pipers claimed their first win of the season, beating upGrad Mumbai Masters 9–7. Earlier in the day, Ganges Grandmasters dominated PBG Alaskan Knights with a convincing 12–3 victory.
Tight standings after Day 3
After three rounds, the leaderboard is extremely close.
Four teams are tied at the top with six Match Points each:
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Triveni Continental Kings
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upGrad Mumbai Masters
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Ganges Grandmasters
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Fyers American Gambits
upGrad Mumbai Masters lead on Game Points with 33, just ahead of Triveni on 32. Ganges follow with 29, while Fyers have 25.
Alpine SG Pipers moved back into contention with three Match Points. PBG Alaskan Knights remain at the bottom and are still searching for their first match win.
Match 7: Ganges Grandmasters vs PBG Alaskan Knights (12–3)
Ganges Grandmasters continued their recovery in style. They carried strong momentum from Day 2 and dominated the match from start to finish.
The prodigy board opened with a calm draw between Daniel Dardha and Raunak Sadhwani. The real breakthrough came when Javokhir Sindarov defeated Leinier Dominguez after a costly middlegame mistake.
The highlight came on the Icon board. Viswanathan Anand scored his first win in Mumbai by defeating World Champion Gukesh. Anand built steady pressure, promoted a pawn, and forced resignation.
Further draws followed on the men’s and women’s boards, while Polina Shuvalova added another win for Ganges. The final score was a dominant 12–3.
Match 8: Triveni Continental Kings vs Fyers American Gambits (8–10)
This clash featured two of the strongest teams in the league. Both sides fielded their best line-ups.
Richard Rapport gave the Gambits an early lead by defeating Vidit Gujrathi with a smooth positional game. Triveni responded when Alexandra Kosteniuk won a sharp encounter and even delivered a rare pawn checkmate.
On the Icon board, Alireza Firouzja defeated Hikaru Nakamura and pushed Triveni into the lead. After draws on other boards, everything came down to the prodigy game.
In a sharp Sicilian, Volodar Murzin defeated Marc’Andria Maurizzi with the black pieces. His win swung the match in Gambits’ favor. Fyers won 10–8, handing Triveni their first defeat of the season.
Match 9: Alpine SG Pipers vs upGrad Mumbai Masters (9–7)
This match was crucial for both teams. Alpine needed a win to stay alive, while upGrad wanted to protect their perfect record.
The opening draw between Anish Giri and Wesley So kept things balanced. Then Hou Yifan played her best game of the season, defeating Humpy Koneru with a powerful kingside attack.
upGrad struck back when Maxime Vachier-Lagrave outplayed Fabiano Caruana. Another draw followed on the women’s board.
Drama unfolded on the second men’s board. Praggnanandhaa was completely winning but missed his chance in severe time trouble, allowing Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to escape with a draw.
With the score tight, the prodigy board decided everything. Leon Luke Mendonca found a beautiful mating attack against Bardiya Daneshvar and sealed Alpine’s first victory of the season with a 9–7 win.
Day 3 delivered drama, comebacks, and surprises. With four teams tied at the top, the Global Chess League is heading into an intense and unpredictable phase.
Photos: FIDE_Chess
Source: FIDE CHESS NEWS
