PBG Alaskan Knights made to wait for place in Tech Mahindra Global Chess League finals

upGrad Mumba Masters shocked Tech Mahindra Global Chess League leaders PBG Alaskan Knights to beat them 10-9 and deny them direct qualification to the finals.

Meanwhile, Triveni Continental Kings and Alpine Sg Pipers moved closer to securing their spots at the top.

The games continue on Thursday 10 October, with two more rounds left before the knockout finals.

The team of upGrad Mumba Masters got better positions early on but it was the PBG Alaskan Knights who took the lead first.

After a draw between Dronavalli and Kashlinskaya, Mumba’s Vidit Gujrathi lost on time against Abdusattorov and Peter Svidler fell to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

But Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s critical win over Anish Giri on the icon board kept Mumba in the match.

It came down to the final two boards, where Mumba’s Humpy Koneru and Sadhwani converted their advantages under time pressure, sealing the upset.

As Sarin resigned, the crowd at Friends House applauded Mumba’s resilience. With this victory, Mumba remain in contention for the finals, while PBG must wait for another opportunity to qualify.

“It feels great. I’m glad I could help the team. We had nothing to lose, wanting to play a good match and it worked,” Mumba’s prodigy player Raunak Sadhwani said after the match.

In another duel between the leaders and those struggling at the bottom – season one winners Triveni Continental Kings were playing against Ganges Grandmasters.

Triveni secured a crucial victory against Ganges Grandmasters 12-9, tightening their grip on a spot in the finals.

At the start of the match things were looking great for Ganges as Anand came out of the opening much better in his game against Firouzja, and things were looking promising on other boards.

However, as the match progressed – things went south when Anand blundered and lost, Maghsoodloo lost in a completely winning position against Radjabov and Vaishali also misplayed a better position against Kosteniuk – handing critical victories to Triveni to bag the match.

With this defeat Ganges Grandmasters, led by former World Champion Vishy Anand, are out of the race for the finals.

Here follows a closer look of the matches on day eight of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League:

upGrad Mumba Masters vs PBG Alaskan Knights: PBG miss first chance to reach the finals

The seventh day of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League saw PBG, playing as Black, play against Mumba Masters, who had won only two out of seven matches so far.

With three rounds left, PBG had the opportunity to secure their place in the finals. For Mumba, this was a must-win match to keep their finals hopes alive.

The opening game between the two teams ended in a narrow 8-5 victory for PBG, with just one decisive result: PBG’s Nihal Sarin pulling off a crucial win against Raunak Sadhwani on the prodigy board.

Early on in the match, Mumba gained the upper hand. Sadhwani created a strong position against Sarin, and Humpy Koneru was better placed against former Women’s World Champion, Tan Zhongyi.

However, on the superstar board, Vidit Gujrathi was struggling with time against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, echoing their earlier encounter.

Meanwhile, PBG’s icon player Anish Giri could only manage to create a drawn position against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, which, considering Giri was Black, would normally be a favourable result.

The first game to conclude was a draw on the women’s board, where Harika Dronavalli and Alina Kashlinskaya, both top scorers, neutralized each other.

Needing to rally quickly, PBG instead found themselves in trouble.

A highly unusual position developed on the icon board, despite Black having two pawn-runners on the queenside, the engine showed White had the advantage—provided Vachier-Lagrave could push his pawns.

In time trouble, the Frenchman – who also holds a degree in mathematics – calculated flawlessly, seizing a decisive advantage.

However, Mumba suffered a setback when Vidit lost on time, giving PBG a lead of 4-2. Still, Mumba was in control on three of the remaining four boards.

Vachier-Lagrave's victory over Giri closed the gap to 5-4. But then Mumba’s Peter Svidler fell against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in time trouble, pushing PBG ahead to 9-4.

It all came down to the final two boards, where Mumba was dominating. Despite the time pressure, both Humpy and Sadhwani converted their advantages, securing a 10-9 victory for Mumba.

Ganges Grandmasters vs Triveni Continental Kings: A great start but a terrible finish for Ganges

The Ganges Grandmasters started the match confidently with the white pieces. Vishy Anand gained an early advantage over Alireza Firouzja right after the opening, while Parham Maghsoodloo and Nurgyul Salimova also secured strong positions in their games.

Vaishali R joined in, achieving a favourable position against former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.

However, disaster struck when Anand hesitated in his promising position, eventually blundering and handing the lead to Triveni.

Despite this setback, the Ganges team still held favourable positions on most boards. Arjun Erigaisi secured a much-needed victory on board two, defeating Wei Yi — his first win after seven consecutive draws.

But then more bad news followed for Ganges: Vaishali lost a better position to Kosteniuk, and Maghsoodloo blundered a completely winning position against Teimour Radjabov on board three, ultimately giving the match to Triveni.

Despite late wins from Salimova against Gunina and Murzin against Sindarov, Ganges lost the match 12-9, dashing their hopes of reaching the finals.

American Gambits vs Alpine Sg Pipers: Praggnanandhaa secures crucial win for the Pipers

In their previous encounter, the Pipers narrowly won 9-7 playing as White. This time, with the Gambits having the first-move advantage, they pressed hard on all boards.

The Gambits got off to a good start with Elisabeth Paehtz securing a significantly better position against Kateryna Lagno. Shortly after, teammate Bibisara Assaubayeva gained an advantage over Hou Yifan.

On board three, however, the Pipers caught a break when Yu Yangyi accepted a draw from Richard Rapport, despite being in a better position—a risky decision that proved to be perilous for the Gambits.

Meanwhile, Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen were in a drawn position. When Carlsen offered a rook exchange to settle the game, both players looked around to assess how their teammates were faring.

Nakamura accepted to exchange the rooks, though he opted to continue playing due to his knight being stronger than Carlsen’s bishop in the pawn endgame. Despite this, the game ended in a draw.

On the superstar board, Sg Pipers’ Praggnanandhaa had a dominant position against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, which he eventually converted into a win, swinging the match in the Pipers' favour.

Although Paehtz secured her win, the Gambits lost on the prodigy board, and Assaubayeva let her advantage slip, settling for a draw against Hou.

The match ended 11-6 in favour of the Alpine Sg Pipers.