Global Chess League 2024: Magnus Carlsen runs out of time as Triveni Continental Kings thrash Alpine SG Pipers

World No 1 Magnus Carlsen ran out of time in his ‘Icon vs Icon’ battle with Alireza Firouzja as reigning champions Triveni Continental Kings bounced back from a defeat on the opening day of the Global Chess League by thrashing Alpine SG Pipers 17-4 on Friday.

The one-sided scoreline however, isn’t an accurate indicator as to how the contest panned out initially, with the two teams evenly-matched in the early stages and computer evaluations showing equality across the boards at the halfway point.

Pipers’ Richard Rapport was the first to break through as he secured a victory after launching a vicious attack on Teimour Radjabov, leaving him with no escape. That was followed by former women’s world champions Hou Yifan and Alexandra Kosteniuk settling for a draw, giving the Pipers a 4-1 lead.

The other four boards, however, went down to the wire.

After testing his opponent in the middlegame, Carlsen managed to find a weakness in Firouzja’s position, to gain the upper hand.

But Firouzja wasn’t giving up – his position was lost but he had the time advantage.

With no time increment, the pressure shifted to Carlsen and despite his efforts, the Norwegian ultimately lost on time, a rare occurrence for him. This critical victory gave Triveni, playing with black pieces, four points and the lead in the match.

R Pragnanandhaa then fell to Wei Yi on board two, further strengthening Triveni’s command of the match.

Shortly after, the Pipers crumbled on the remaining boards, handing Triveni a stunning victory.

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Anand’s Ganges Grandmasters stumble

Five-time world champion Vishwanathan Anand went down to former world blitz champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave as upGrad Mumba Masters registered a 14-5 win over Ganges Grandmasters.

Both teams came into this match seeking their first win, having lost their opening games by identical scores. The headline icon matchup on board one pitted the Anand against Vachier-Lagrave.

Despite holding a better position, Anand blundered a tactical sacrifice, allowing Vachier-Lagrave to turn the tables.

Although facing time pressure, the French star tapped into his blitz champion instincts, tightening his control over the game and ultimately clinching a vital victory.

upGrad Mumba Masters, who played the match as Black — took control from there, with a win on the youngsters’ board and a draw on the second women’s board, pushing them into the lead.

Ganges Grandmasters couldn’t catch a break, and despite world number three Arjun Erigaisi’s best efforts, he could only manage a draw against Vidit Gujrathi, despite being ahead on the clock.

⚠️ 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ⚠️#TechMGCL #TheNextMove #UMMvPBG | @FIDE_chess @chesscom @chesscom_in @umumba pic.twitter.com/TnJSsf8WVV

— Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) October 4, 2024

The situation worsened when Koneru Humpy overcame Vaishali R, clinching the match for the upGrad Mumba Masters.

While Parham Maghsoodloo secured a hard-fought victory against Peter Svidler to salvage some pride for the Ganges, it wasn’t enough to save them from a 14-5 defeat.

With the upGrad Mumba Masters claiming their first points, Ganges Grandmasters face an uphill battle after back-to-back losses.

The situation is even worse because this is their second defeat with white pieces. They’ll need to regroup quickly if they hope to stay in contention for the top places.

Anish Giri holds Hikaru Nakamura to a draw

Earlier in the day, PBG Alaskan Knights took on the American Gambits with the former playing with white pieces.

On board one — icon players Anish Giri (Alaskan Knights) and Hikaru Nakamura (American Gambits) drew their game despite a lot of options on the board to consider.

PBG Alaskan Knights have made an early move in the race to finals 👀

Here’s where the teams stand after Day 2️⃣ of Stake presents #TechMGCL Season 2 🙌♟ #TheNextMove pic.twitter.com/ruSJ0OiIHw

— Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) October 4, 2024

When asked if they are happy with the outcome, both confirmed but Nakamura noted it was Giri’s choice to go for a draw. As the match progressed, this turned out to be a good call for Giri as his teammates secured four victories (on the youngsters board, the women’s boards and one of the superstar boards) and one more draw, for a convincing score of 14-2.

After this round, PBG Alaskan Knights emerged as the sole leaders of the tournament, with six match points, while the American Gambits remained on three.

With PTI inputs