Magnus Carlsen of SG Alpine Warriors defeated Viswanathan Anand and launched his team to the top of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, pushing Ganges Grandmasters to second.
Balan Alaskan Knights unsettled upGrad Mumba Masters in the first match of the round.
Grandmasters took the lead but thanks to R Praggnanandhaa (who scored 5.5/6), the Warriors managed to strike back in a critical moment. In what turned out to be the endgame for the history books, which saw two queens promoted by White and a knight promoted by Black, Carlsen managed to win and ensured his team reaches the top of the scoreboard.
In their earlier match in the tournament, Grandmasters had come out victorious, 11 to 6. With the colour of pieces switching, the Grandmasters now had the first move initiative. Its Richard Rapport had the first breakthrough. In the Italian game, Gukesh D allowed Rapport to take more space and orchestrate an attack on the black king from which there was no escape. With another game ending in a draw - between Arjun Erigaisi and Leinier Dominguez – the Grandmasters took the lead.
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The next game to finish was between Hou Yifan – the top-rate woman player and former women’s World Champion – who defeated the eight-time American Women’s Champion, Irina Krush. In a tense position, Krush made a blunder allowing White to easily mate her king. Warriors’ Praggnanandhaa – so far the most successful player in the tournament – proved his value again, defeating Andrey Esipenko as Black. As Elisabeth Paehtz ended in a drawn position with Bella Khotenashvili, everything depended on the outcome of the game between Carlsen and Anand.
Following the French defence, a sharp position developed on the board. Carlsen was gradually gaining ground but Anand was holding. Following a decision to trade his bishop for a knight, White was lost. But it wasn’t over and – with seconds on the clock – Carlsen had to calculate the complicated path to victory which saw White promoting his pawn to a queen twice. In the end, Anand thought he found a way to a stalemate but instead of promoting a queen, Carlsen took out a knight.
After the game Carlsen said, “Well, I did not know the score, but judging from what I’d seen before I thought I had to win, I had to keep the game going and I didn’t think there was any risk, I thought – let’s keep going and continue this fight”.
“It’s looking pretty good now, it’s pretty massive, we’ve got to keep it going, we’ve played with five blacks in a row, won four of them. But now mentality changes - since we need to win with white and draw won’t be enough… It’s not going to be easy for sure – it’s a hell of a ride, every match comes down to the wire. So far we’ve come out on top and hopefully continue”, Carlsen said.
Anand said, “I spoiled the endgame in the end… He’s really good at this.”
Balan Alaskan Knights vs upGrad Mumba Masters (8:5)
Knights team started the day in fifth position. But in the individual race for the most valuable players, it had two of its own - Tan Zhongyi and Nodirbek Abdusattorov - in good form and in the top six, just behind the Masters’ Harika Dronavalli who was in fourth place.
Humpy was in a disadvantageous position against Tan Zhongyi, although the latter had used up more time for her attack. On board one, the icon players settled for a draw, as did Teimour Radjabov and Vidit Gujrathi on the third table.
Harika Dronavalli in action against Nino Batsiashvili. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Meanwhile, a patient Humpy made calculated moves to fight back. Her opponent Tan Zhongyi misplayed at a crucial juncture, allowing Humpy to bail out. Dronavalli also held off the initial onslaught from Nino Batsiashvili, and the two agreed on a draw.
All hopes rested on board six, where Knights’ prodigy Raunak Sadhwani pressed his advantage with white against Javokhir Sindarov from Uzbekistan. The time on the clock was also in the favour of the young 17-year-old from Nagpur. Sadhwani finally forced a win, expressing his delight by throwing his hands in the air.
In the last game to finish, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, as White, was in a tight tug-of-war with Alexander Grischuk for most of their clash. Abdusattorov then managed to hold the fort, thus paving the way for an important 8-5 win for the Knights.
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