The New Indian Express ·
GCL: Sindarov bests Anand to set ball rolling for American Gambits
BENGALURU: AMERICAN Gambits got off to the perfect start on the opening day of the Global Chess League (GCL) as they did the double to move to six points. After opening the fourth edition of the league -- one of the highlights of the first round was Javokhir Sindarov beating Viswanathan Anand -- by getting the better of PBG Alaskan Knights, they completed the proceedings on Saturday by completing a comprehensive win over Triveni Continental Kings, tournament winners twice in the three previous editions.
In a bigger and revamped version of the game's biggest standalone franchise-style league competition, Saturday wasn't just about Gambits' perfect score. Magnus Carlsen, who stayed away from the GCL in the third edition, played out a draw against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the top board of the match between Alpine APL Pipers and CheQ Mumba Masters.
Even though Pipers, the defending champions, saw Anish Giri lose from board 2, they did win the contest as Vidit Gujrathi and Konery Humpy delivered big wins in a side with heavy local influence.
