Global Chess League 2024: Firouzja collects fifth consecutive win as Continental Kings defeat Masters in first rematch of season

Defending champions Triveni Continental Kings pulled off a narrow 10-8 victory over upGrad Mumba Masters in the Global Chess League in London on Monday.

Iranian-French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja continued his spectacular run by collecting his fifth consecutive victory on the fifth day of GCL Season 2.

The Continental Kings had entered the opening round of Monday’s fixtures with three wins out of five and began the day at the second spot in the six-team standings.

Meanwhile Mumba Masters, last season’s top contenders, collected just one win while losing four, which placed them just above the bottom of the table.

The TCK vs MM face off marked the beginning of the rematch stage, with the other teams having already faced each other once so far this season.

More from Sports

Why Novak Djokovic’s tennis calendar is under scrutiny as experts fear he could be left behind Federer ‘Gukesh is an incredibly fighting player. I think it’s adorable’: Caruana’s rare praise for world champion amid horror form

In their first contest, Continental Kings, playing with white, defeated Mumba 12–3 with wins by Firouzja, Wei Yi, and Valentina Gunina.

This time, Mumba had the advantage of making the first move.

Mumba’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave sought to avenge his previous loss to Firouzja but succumbed to another defeat after several blunders in a sharp, tactical game.

Firouzja clinched victory with a powerful attacking combination, forcing Vachier-Lagrave to resign in a near-checkmate situation.

Firouzja’s win keeps him undefeated after six rounds.

The Kings’ Icon seems happy with his unstoppable 🔥 performances 😍#TechMGCL #TheNextMove #TCKvUMM | @MahindraRise | @tech_mahindra | @trivenickings | @FIDE_chess | @AlirezaFirouzja | @JioCinema | @chesscom | @chesscom_in pic.twitter.com/Q8NrAjn7wC

— Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) October 7, 2024

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

WWE SummerSlam 2025 Night 2 results: Cody Rhodes beats John Cena in wild title match

Vidit Gujrathi and Wei Yi repeated their earlier opening line on the top board, but this time, Vidit capitalised on a critical mistake by Wei Yi to secure a win for Mumba.

Alexandra Kosteniuk extended Continental Kings’ lead by defeating Koneru Humpy, but Harika Dronavalli brought Mumba back into the match by defeating Gunina.

With Continental Kings leading 9–7, the match came down to the youngsters’ board.

Continental Kings’ Javokhir Sindarov missed two winning chances and found himself in time trouble.

Mumba’s Raunak Sadhwani, unaware his team needed a win, opted for a draw by repeating moves as it sealed Continental Kings’ 10–8 victory.

“This is one of the best performances I’ve ever had, but there are still a few rounds left,” Firouzja said after the match, adding that his team was “a bit lucky to win.”

With PTI inputs