Today's Edition
London (Aletihad)
Triveni Continental Kings (TCK) secured a successive crown at the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League by defeating Punit Balan Group’s Alaskan Knights (PBG) in a gripping final in London.
This was the second season of the franchise, team-based competition, and, in both years, the TCK team remained in the forefront but not quite led from the top, until the final stretch.
Second in the six-team league, they went into the final slightly behind the Alaskan Knights. The tournament features six-member teams, each comprising an icon player, two senior men and women players and a prodigy category player. There were no increments after the allotted time while both teams got to play with white and black pieces respectively.
TCK dominated the two-match final with a 13-7 victory as black in the first match and then fought back a strong fightback from PBG to win 9-7 with white pieces in the second half. The triumph earned them the top prize of $500,000.
Former women’s world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk played a pivotal role, defeating Tan Zhongyi in a decisive game to prevent PBG from forcing a tiebreak, earning herself the Player of the Match title. “Amazing how chess can be so exciting,” said Alireza Firouzja, Triveni’s Icon player, who appreciated the event’s innovation of no time increments. “I hope to see more of this.”
PBG Alaskan Knights, who were the frontrunners throughout the season, fell short in the finals but earned $250,000 for their commendable performance.
Over nine days of intense competition at the Friends House, PBG dominated the season, winning eight out of 10 matches, while Triveni’s journey included six victories and four defeats. They had the same share as world No.1 Magnus Carlsen-led SG Alpine Pipers, but with better result margins and a head-to-head fillip in beating the Pipers.
PBG won the coin toss and opted to start as black, a strategy seen throughout the league. The first match began with Firouzja’s win over Anish Giri, leading Kings to a 4-1 start. Kosteniuk’s bold win over Zhongyi sealed the 9-7 victory for TCK.
In the second round, PBG needed a win to stay in the contest but faced challenges under intense pressure. Despite taking an early lead, critical blunders on boards by Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Zhongyi turned the tide in the Kings’ favour. Kosteniuk’s win over Tan secured TCK’s 13-7 victory, clinching their second title.
Incidentally both teams had changed compositions before the start of the tournament, with Giri and Firouzja coming on board as debutant icon players for their respective teams. And while Giri self-admittedly had a poor run of form, the TCK team managed to win on collective performance and resilience.
