admin 
Hou Yifan faced Humpy Koneru in a Queen’s Indian Defence (Photo Global Chess League)
The penultimate day of the qualifying rounds at the Global Chess League belonged to the champions and the teams who refused to give up. The Triveni Continental Kings crushed the Ganges Grandmasters 14–5 to secure their place in the final with a round to spare.
It was a great day for the Alpine SG Pipers, who beat both the upGrad Mumbai Masters and the Fyers American Gambits in two tight matches to climb into sole second place. The PBG Alaskan Knights handed Mumbai a third straight defeat, tightening the race for the remaining final spot.
After seven days, Triveni were already clear on 18 match points, with the upGrad Mumbai Masters and Ganges Grandmasters six points behind. Day eight pushed them even further ahead. The Kings moved to 21 match points, removing any doubt about their presence in the final.
Behind them, the table is now crowded: the Alpine SG Pipers ended the day on 15 match Points, with Mumbai, Ganges, and PBG on 12, and the Gambits on nine. With one day of round-robin play left, only second place is still up for grabs.
Alpine SG Pipers vs upGrad Mumbai Masters (8–7)
Both upGrad Mumbai Masters had suffered setbacks on the previous day and, having played one match fewer than the rest, saw this as a direct chance to climb back into the fight for the final.
In their first meeting, Alpine had beaten Mumbai 9–7 thanks to wins from Hou Yifan and Leon Luke Mendonca, with the remaining boards drawn.
The same two boards decided the return match. Four of the six games were drawn, leaving everything in the hands of Yifan and Leon once more. On the top women’s board, Yifan faced Humpy Koneru in a Queen’s Indian Defence. Yifan seized the initiative early, lost some of her edge, but then capitalised on a later error from Humpy to score a critical win for the Pipers.
On the prodigy board, Bardiya Daneshvar hit back for Mumbai. In a French Defence, he outplayed Leon Luke Mendonca to bring home the full point. This narrowed the gap but did not change the match outcome. With Hou’s win and four draws, Alpine reached eight game points, while Mumbai finished on seven.
The Pipers scored their second win over Mumbai and moved up to 12 match points, joining the group chasing Triveni. For Mumbai, this was a second straight missed chance to close the gap on the leaders, further weakening their hopes for the final.
Ganges Grandmasters vs Triveni Continental Kings (5–14)
In their first head-to-head on Day 4, Triveni had won 11–6. Now Ganges needed to strike back, especially after upGrad had again failed to separate from them in the standings.
Both teams approached the match sharply. The first game to finish was between Vincent Keymer and Wei Yi in an English Opening. Neither side managed to unbalance the position, and the players agreed to a draw by threefold repetition.
On the prodigy board, Raunak Sadhwani gained the initiative against Marc’Andria Maurizzi in a Giuoco Piano, but that game also ended in a draw. The early score was 2–2, but the real drama was still to come.
On board five, Alexandra Kosteniuk scored first for Triveni. In a Caro-Kann, Stavroula Tsolakidou emerged a pawn up but then misplayed, allowing Black to launch a powerful kingside attack that decided the game in Kosteniuk’s favour, giving the champions a vital lead.
On the second women’s board, Polina Shuvalova spoiled a winning position against Zhu Jiner, notably missing a checkmate in two. Instead, she walked into a completely lost ending. Another four Game Points went to Triveni, and the match swung heavily in their favour.
Ganges scored their only win on board three, where Javokhir Sindarov defeated Vidit Gujrathi, but it was too late. To finish the job, Alireza Firouzja prevailed over Viswanathan Anand in a see-saw game, repeating their earlier result with the colours reversed on the scoreboard.
The final result was 14–5 in favour of Triveni. The champions moved to 21 match points, now nine points clear of the field. No one could catch them: their place in the final was confirmed.
Fyers American Gambits vs Alpine SG Pipers (7–8)
The Pipers returned to the stage to face the Fyers American Gambits, coming in encouraged by their win over Mumbai earlier in the day. Within twenty minutes of the start, Alpine had the initiative in three of the six games and were at least equal in the others.
For the second time that day, Yifan was the first to score for her team. She defeated Bibisara Assaubayeva after a miscalculated piece exchange left White in a lost rook endgame. Hou converted without difficulty and gave the Pipers an early lead.
Things soon improved for the Gambits when Nino Batsiashvili overlooked a piece in her game against Teodora Injac. Despite that, Injac, in serious time trouble, did not manage to finish the job. She reached an endgame with an extra knight and two pawns against three pawns – a completely winning position – but misplayed it, allowing Black to advance a pawn so far that White’s only way to avoid defeat was to repeat moves.
Injac was visibly shocked after the game, staring at the board for a long time. It was a lucky half-point for Alpine, who were gradually pushing the match in their favour.
On the Icon board, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana drew, bringing Alpine another small step closer to victory. On board three, R Praggnanandhaa gained a completely winning position against Richard Rapport. In a knight-versus-bishop endgame, virtually every move would have won for Black, but Pragg chose the only line that led straight into a draw, granting a second lucky save to the Gambits.
The last game to finish was on the prodigy board. Volodar Murzin took the initiative in the middlegame against Leon Luke Mendonca and, in a desperate time scramble for both, gritted out a win. That softened the blow for the Gambits but did not change the team result.
With Yifan’s win, several draws, and only one loss, the Alpine SG Pipers edged the match 8–7. They climbed to 15 match points and moved into sole possession of second place, now in pole position for the remaining spot in the final.
upGrad Mumbai Masters vs PBG Alaskan Knights (8–10)
The evening finale brought together two teams whose recent stories were dominated by misfortune. The upGrad Mumbai Masters had been in a close race with Triveni before suffering two defeats; this was an important chance to stop the slide. The PBG Alaskan Knights, after four straight losses at the start of the league, had rediscovered their form and were back in contention.
The match was a rollercoaster with missed chances on both sides. Early on, Leinier Dominguez obtained the initiative against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on board three, while Mumbai responded with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave pressing Gukesh on the Icon board.
Humpy Koneru and Kateryna Lagno were the first to finish, drawing a Queen’s Gambit Declined. Another draw followed between Wesley So and Arjun Erigaisi from a balanced position.
Then came the first big break for PBG. After misplaying the middlegame, Mamedyarov landed in an extremely difficult position where Dominguez had many tactical resources. The Azerbaijani grandmaster defended stubbornly but never got the chance for a full comeback and eventually lost.
Even after that, Mumbai still looked better on the remaining boards, and a team victory seemed within reach. Then the match turned sharply. Harika Dronavalli blundered in a completely winning endgame against Sara Khadem, allowing her opponent first to equalise and then capture two queenside pawns. Khadem brought her queen into the attack and finished with checkmate. Dronavalli could not believe what had happened.
That win effectively sealed the match for PBG. With the score at 10–2, even if Mumbai won the last two games, they could not catch up. That is exactly what happened: Vachier-Lagrave converted his overwhelming advantage against Gukesh on the Icon board, while on the prodigy board, Bardiya Daneshvar defeated Daniel Dardha, who lost two pawns in the endgame.
As the last moves were played, Harika sat with her head in her hands, staring at the floor while team coach Pentala Harikrishna shook his head in disbelief. Mumbai had suffered three defeats in three rounds, all but destroying their chances of reaching the final. The PBG Alaskan Knights, on the other hand, closed the day on 12 match points, level with the chasing pack and very much alive in the race for second place.
