Global Chess League: The masters return, and look set to enthrall

The Global Chess League has returned for its second season and promises chess on a grand scale. While the first edition was held in Dubai, this year’s league will play out in London.

And much like last year, the 2024 season will witness six teams, with each team consisting of six players. Every team has an icon player at the top along with, two sets of men and women superstars of every team will face each other on the second and third boards. Alongside them, every team has a junior player taking up the Prodigy board.

As is typically the case with franchise-led leagues, drafts determine the team composition. At the recent draft held at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi, 30 players were picked by the six franchises on what was an action-packed day.

Going into the draft, every team was handed 1,000 points, from which they had to procure five players for their unit. The icon players were determined before the drafts. Teams were permitted to retain icon players from 2023 and if they were to do so, they had to shell out 200 points.

When the drafts began, bidding began with 50 points.

Unique team combinations

Alpine SG Pipers retained Magnus Carlsen as their icon, along with R. Praggnanandhaa as a ‘Superstar’. In the draft, they picked up Richard Rapport.

Then, they went all out to get the women's World No. 1 Hou Yifan in order to solidify their top four. The Alpines also picked the Belgian 18-year-old Daniel Dardha as their ‘prodigy’.

For the Ganges Grandmasters, the legendary Viswanathan Anand leads the squad, taking responsibility for the icon board. Also on the team is Arjun Erigaisi, one of the best rapid players in the world. Parham Maghsoodloo will compete on board number three. And then there are Nurgyul Salimova and R. Vaishali, who are set to play on the women's board. Incidentally, both were the youngest FIDE Candidates 2024 players. GM Volodar Murzin will play on the junior board. With the seasoned warhorse Anand on the team, the Ganges Grandmasters seem to be a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, the Mumba Masters stunned everyone by retaining five of the six players from the 2023 season. This includes Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Vidit Gujrathi, D. Harika, Grischuk and Koneru Humpy. Raunak Sadhwani replacing Javokhir Sindarov was the only change in the squad. Clearly, Mumba Masters are hopeful that a largely unchanged team will give them a leg up in 2024. Interestingly, the Mumba Masters have four Indians, the most number of Indians in a team at the Global Chess League.

PBG Alaskan Knights have two beasts of the rapid version of the game in their squad. This includes the former world rapid and blitz champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov and India’s Nihal Sarin, who boasts a rating of over 3000 in chess.com rapids and is known for his quick play. Also, the team has Tan Zhongyi who is a former woman world champion, while Dutchman Anish Giri is their icon - a player who on a given day can beat the best in the business.

Defending champions Triveni Continental Kings, with the services of Ian Nepomniactchi, Teimour Radjabov, and Wei Yi, will be the ones to look out for in the league with balanced top-3 boards followed by two experienced women Grandmasters, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina. While the former has been playing chess for more than two decades and is a former world champion, the latter clinched the world blitz title in 2023. Also, the Kings have got the might of Javokhir Sindarov, who is a 2022 Chess Olympiad champion.

And finally, the American Gambits, the new team in the season, went the distance to procure Hikaru Nakamura. Additionally, they secured Vladislav Artemiev on the second board as well as Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Incidentally, Duda had the highest individual score during the 2021 World Blitz and Rapid Championship combined. Also in the fold is the Kazakh Bibisara Assaubayeva, the youngest ever to clinch a world blitz title. And on the 5th board, the American Gambits will have the experience of Elisabeth Pähtz. Finally, the young Dane Jonas Buhl Bjerre will be their ‘prodigy’.

The road ahead

The Global Chess League Season 2 will undoubtedly shape up to be an exciting tournament.

Every team has a combination of balance and an unknown element, and this is bound to make the competition fierce.

With its unique blend of established masters and rising stars, this season is set to redefine the boundaries of competitive chess.

The drafts have set the stage for a thrilling season of chess, and the fans will be in for a treat. And as the chess world eagerly awaits the first move, the Global Chess League Season 2 promises an exhilarating ride.