GCL: Chingari Gulf Titans, upGrad Mumba Masters register wins

Dubai, Jun 28 (PTI) Chingari Gulf Titans defeated leaders Ganges Grandmasters,
while upGrad Mumba Masters edged past Triveni Continental Kings in the Global Chess League here.

Titans edged out Ganges Grandmasters 9-7 on Tuesday night, while Mumba Masters emerged victorious by securing a win on the final two boards. They won 10-4.

Despite the defeat, Ganges Grandmasters continue to lead GCL standings while Mumba Masters moved one place up to third.

The Chingari Gulf Titans played Ganges Grandmasters in their second round-robin encounter of GCL. In the previous match, the Ganges Grandmasters had played as white and emerged victorious after winning the coin toss. This time, it was their turn to play with the black pieces.

The first break for the Titans came on board five when Polina Shuvalova created a better position against Bella Khotenashvilli.

In a complicated position, Khotenashvilli made an error in time trouble and handed over the game to Shuvalova and, eventually, lost on time.

Soon afterwards two top world heavyweights Richard Rapport and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov decided to draw.

In a chaotic game between Daniil Dubov and Leinier Dominguez, where both sides exchanged advantages, Dubov emerged victorious after time trouble, securing four critical points for the Titans.

Nihal Sarin then drew with Andrey Esipenko despite having the upper hand for the greater part of the game.

Former world champion Vishwanathan Anand gave the Ganges Grandmasters a respite when he beat icon player Jan-Kryzsztof Duda, but that wasn’t enough for a victory.

Former world champion Hou Yifan of Ganges Grandmasters then settled for a draw against Alexandra Kosteniuk.

In the second match on Tuesday, Mumba Masters defeated Triveni Continental Kings 10-4.

In their previous tie against the Kings, Mumba Masters emerged victorious while playing with the black pieces, but this time they played as white.

Sara Khadem replaced Nana Dzagnidze in Triveni Continental Kings team after the latter had withdrawn from the tournament due to personal reasons.

Both sides were evenly matched for most of the match. The only one to gain more initiative from the outset was Mumba Masters’ Harika Dronavalli, who was slightly better than Khadem.

Mumba’s Koneru Humpy settled for a draw. Her teammater Alexander Grischuk looked in a winning position against Triveni’s Yu Yangyi before the latter managed to unsettle Grischuk as the famed Russian player threw away his advantage and accepted a draw against Yu.

As tension mounted across the boards, team leaders and icon players Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian also decided to settle for a draw.

Shortly after, Vidit Gurjathi and Wei Yi also agreed for a draw.

The fate of the match hinged on the final two boards.

While Harika defeated Khadem, Kings’ Jonas Bjerre misplayed his position, allowing Javokhir Sindarov to seize the advantage and secure a win.