GCL: Carlsen powers defending champions Alpine Pipers past Mumba Masters; Ganges Grandmasters win

Bengaluru: Defending champions Alpine APL Pipers were off to a good start with a fighting 10-8 win with the black pieces over Mumba Masters, while two-time winners Triveni Continental Kings suffered a 9-10 reversal against Ganges Grandmasters and American Gambits defeated PBG Alaskan Knights 10-4 on the opening day of the Global Chess League here on Saturday.

With world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen returning to the Pipers' fold after missing last year, all eyes were on the five-time world champion in the match against Mumba Masters and he did not disappoint.

The defending champions were put under early pressure as Mumba Masters' M Pranesh defeated Anish Giri. But Vidit Gujrathi brought his team back into the contest as his strong positional play was enough to beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.


The experienced Koneru Humpy then defeated Carissa Yip to put the Pipers in a strong position. However, D Harika then inflicted a loss on Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh to make it two wins each for both the teams.

Carlsen was solid on the Icon board against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and that was enough to ensure a winning start for his team.

Two-time champions Triveni Continental Kings' strategy to play with the black pieces backfired against Ganges Grandmasters.

The experienced Levon Aronian gave the Ganges Grandmasters a solid start by beating Wei Yi in just 29 moves. Polina Shuvalova and Stavroula Tsolakidou then extended their team's lead by winning the two Superstar Women boards. Shuvalova defeated Zhu Jiner in 70 moves, while Tsolakidou defeated former Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in 59 moves.

However, Leinier Dominguez Perez lost to Aravindh Chithambaram on time as his clock ran out after 43 moves, with their position looking mostly even.

Continental Kings' V Pranav then forced Ganges Grandmasters' Leon Luke Mendonca to resign after 40 moves to close the gap to just one point.

Candidates champion Javokhir Sindarov got the better of Viswanathan Anand in 57 moves to give American Gambits an early advantage over PBG Alaskan Knights.

Alaskan Knights' GM Arjun Erigaisi had his chances with the black pieces, but the 23-year-old could not find his way past GM Nihal Sarin's defence. With all the other Superstar Men and Women boards finishing in a draw, PBG Alaskan Knights needed Abhimanyu Mishra to beat Marc'Andria Maurizzi on the Prodigy board.

But the GCL debutant had to resign after 81 moves as Maurizzi had a clear advantage in the king-pawn ending.