Global Chess League unveils its official logo

Global Chess League (GCL), a joint venture by world body FIDE and Tech Mahindra, on Wednesday unveiled its official logo, which resembles a chess board with 64 squares.

The logo has been strategically launched 64 days before the inauguration of the first-ever GCL, a number that is well-known in the chess world.

GCL is the world's largest and first-ever league-styled chess tournament set to take place from June 21 to July 2 this year. The first edition of GCL will feature six teams with six players each, including a minimum of two female players and one icon player per side.

Viswanathan Anand, five-time world chess champion and GCL mentor, said, "As we inch closer to the start of the tournament, we are seeing all our plans come to fruition. The GCL logo is a reflection of the vision that we have for the tournament."

Each team will compete in 10 matches in the rapid format across all six boards in the tournament. The top two teams after the round-robin format will progress to the final on July 2, and the winning team will be crowned the world champion franchise team.

"We hope the fans will like the concept and theme we created here. The primary objective of GCL is to promote the sport of chess globally and make it visually attractive for the masses," Anand said in a statement.

FIDE CEO Sutovsky Emil added: "GCL aims to change how chess is played, viewed and visualised globally. We are only a few weeks away from the inaugural season, and we are happy to launch the official logo of the league. FIDE looks forward to an exciting debut of the GCL in June 2023."

The league will also set the standards for technological innovations in chess as FIDE and Tech Mahindra are exploring innovative ways to promote the game through interactive technology-enabled platforms by leveraging next-generation technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, among others.