No sport is driven by IT as much as chess. No city in India is bigger for IT than Bengaluru. It is only apt then that the Global Chess League has come to the Garden City that houses the world’s leading technology firms.
The world’s leading chess players have assembled here for the fourth edition of the GCL – a joint venture of Tech Mahindra and world chess governing body FIDE — that opens at the Lalit Ashok here on Saturday. It is the second time that the planet’s most glamorous chess league is being held in India. Season 3 was conducted in Mumbai after Dubai and London played hosts in the first two years.
A slew of innovations – such as no increment for the first 40 moves, four points for a win with black pieces, having both men and women in the teams and the practice of toss before a match – has made the GCL unique in international chess. Little wonder, the world’s best players have responded enthusiastically to the tournament.
The World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen is headlining the list of superstars in the mind sport. He had missed out in Mumbai, after playing in the first two seasons, but his team, Alpine Pipers, is the defending champion.
But only one player from last year – Anish Giri – has remained with the franchise for this season. Fabiano Caruana, Hou Yifan and R. Praggnanandhaa are absent. Alpine APL Pipers, however, has added to the squad two top female stars, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh, the World Cup champion making her GCL debut.
Chess fans in Bengaluru would be able to see from close quarters many of their favourite players including Viswanathan Anand (PBG Alaskan Knights), Alireza Firouzja (Triveni Continental Kings), Javokhir Sindarov (Fyers American Gambits), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (CheQ Mumba Masters) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (Ganges Grandmasters).
Published – September 04, 2026 06:43 pm IST
