The third season of the Global Chess League begins in Mumbai on December 14, with a host of world-class players, including world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, world no. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, legend Viswanathan Anand and top players like R Praggnanandhaa, Hou Yifan starring in the event.
What is the GCL?
The GCL is a team tournament, which began in 2023 in Dubai, and was then held in London in 2024. Since its inception, it has had six teams and has generally been played over a period of ten days or so. This year, in Mumbai, will be no different.
The Triveni Continental Kings, who have won both previous editions, will be looking to make it a hat-trick this time but will face stiff challenges from each of the other five teams, who are filled with world-class players across all boards.
Where is it happening?
The matches will be played at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai.
The significance of the GCL
Chess is an individual sport at the highest level, and the GCL provides a welcome break in terms of being a team competition - an environment which only the Olympiad provides at the top level. This gives players a chance to share space with some of the best in the world, and of course, there isn't quite the pressure of an Olympiad on it.
Imagine being Koneru Humpy, for example. She is in the same team as compatriot Harika Dronavalli, but also has some seasoned players like Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So, and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in her team, the upGrad Mumba Masters.
The tournament provides a medium for conversations about the sport, says India's women's no.1. "In women's chess, we don't really interact that much with other players during the tournaments, so this will be a nice chance to do that," Humpy says.
It's not just a nice distraction though, this is a serious tournament for Humpy. She will use this to perhaps test out some new ideas, as she looks for preparation before the FIDE Women's Candidates tournament, which will begin in a couple of months.
Humpy's story is replicated across all the teams, with some of the finest youngsters and women's players mixing it alongside some of the best men's players in the world. That platform for camaraderie makes the GCL a special tournament, but also, it is a high-quality chess tournament in itself - as it should be with the number of big players who will turn up for their respective teams.
Any changes from last year?
Most importantly, the time control. Last year, the game were played with a 20-minute time control with no increments, which led to absolutely wild endgames like this one:
The biggest change this year is that after the 40th move in each game, the players will get a two-second increment on their clocks. Gourav Rakshit, GCL Commissioner says that it is a decision that has been taken after consultation with the players, and that it is a change designed to ensure that superiority on the board eventually does count, and not just having better control on the clock.
Several players that ESPN spoke to about such events - including Arjun Erigaisi, Anish Giri and Koneru Humpy - have signaled their dislike for any time control without increments. Giri even called it a bit ridiculous, but now the GCL has given them their wish.
There will also be more changes to the fan experience, Rakshit says. They want to create a festival atmosphere at the Royal Opera House, but a big consideration for Rakshit is wanting fans to remain in the playing hall to watch the games, and understand it at the same time, so that the GCL is accessible to everyone, and not just the hardcore chess fan.
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Of course, there will be a fanzone with the usual chess activities, but there have been considerations for fans to wear headphones in the playing hall to give them access to commentary, and also an evaluation board on the screens in the playing hall. When ESPN spoke to Rakshit last month on the sidelines of the FIDE World Cup, he said that such a proposal for devices in the playing hall was still being considered, and couldn't confirm whether it would happen.
Are any big names playing?
As in previous seasons, six teams will compete in the main event. Players from all over the world will converge in India to represent their teams.
Each team consists of an Icon, the highest-rated player of the team, playing on board one, along with two men, two women, and a junior.
These are the full squads:
What is the format?
At the end of the league stage, where each team will play one match against every other team, the top two teams qualify for the Final, which will be a best-of-two match.
How does the points system work?
In each match in the league, points over the six boards will accrue towards the team's total score for that match. The game points system are as follows:
4 game points for winning with Black
3 game points for winning with White
1 game point for a draw
Once games on all six boards are completed, the game points from each boarded are added up to determine the winner of the match. These match points are what count towards the leaderboard during the league stage. This is how teams score match points based on the results:
3 match points for winning a match
1 match point for drawing a match
0 match points for losing a match
Who are the favourites?
If a team with Magnus Carlsen, Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa can finish outside top two -- as they did in 2023 -- you can see why predicting a winner for this would be very tough. On paper, though, the Alpine SG Pipers seem the most balanced squad.
The Alaskan Knights, who feature world champion D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi, could also be intimidating opponents, though Gukesh's troubles in rapid might be viewed as a weakness.