What is the Global Chess League?
There's a cool new chess tournament called the Global Chess League (GCL). It's organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Tech Mahindra. The first season happened in Dubai from 21st June 2023 to 2nd July 2023. Six teams took part in it. Just like the IPL, each team had chess players from different countries.
The teams that played in GCL 2023 were Ganges Grandmasters, SG Alpine Warriors, Balan Alaskan Knights, Chingari Gulf Titans, upGrad Mumba Masters, and Triveni Continental Kings. The Triveni Continental Kings won the first-ever GCL trophy!
What do we know about Chess?
Chess is a two-player indoor game that’s played on a square board with black and white pieces. Each player’s aim is to defeat the other player’s king.
People in ancient India used to play a game called 'chaturanga' that later turned into chess. However, it was only in the 19th century that standard chess boards began to be used by everyone.
A group called the International Chess Federation (FIDE) organises big chess competitions, like the World Chess Championship and the Chess Olympiad. We celebrate International Chess Day on FIDE’s founding day, the 20th of July, each year.
What happened in the GCL 2023 final?
The Global Chess League 2023 final was played between Triveni Continental Kings and upGrad Mumba Masters. Triveni Continental Kings, who were struggling in the first few matches, ended up winning the whole tournament.
The winner in the final match was decided through three types of tie-breakers. After two rounds of rapid and two rounds of blitz ended in a draw (meaning that both teams scored equally), a series of sudden-death blitz games was played. The champions were decided in the fourth sudden-death game.
19-year-old Danish Grandmaster Jonas Bjerre from Triveni Continental Kings defeated 17-year-old Uzbek player Javokhir Sindarov (upGrad Mumba Masters) in a very exciting game. Levon Aronian, one of the strongest world Grandmasters, was the team captain for the Triveni Continental Kings.
Now, with its first season successfully ended, seems like the Global Chess League will become the “IPL of Chess”. Do you like to play chess? Let us know in the comments below!
