The wait is finally over! The Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL) is back for its fourth season, and for the very first time, India's Silicon Valley - Bengaluru - will play host to the world's premier franchise chess league. From 3 to 13 September 2026, six teams packed with world champions, super-grandmasters, rising prodigies and some of the strongest women players in the world will battle it out in one of the most innovative formats ever introduced to the game.
When the Global Chess League was launched in 2023 by Tech Mahindra in association with FIDE, the chess world received something special. And it is wonderful to see that, into its fourth year, the league is still going very strong. Under the leadership of Anand Mahindra and with five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand serving as one of its strongest ambassadors, the league sought to transform chess into a true spectator sport - one built around city-based franchises, team rivalries and fast-paced encounters that could captivate both seasoned chess enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
Over the past three seasons, that vision has steadily taken shape. The league has brought together the biggest names in chess under one roof, created memorable team battles and introduced fans to a format where every board matters. Unlike traditional tournaments, every franchise fields an Icon player, two Superstars, two leading women players and a prodigy, making each match a fascinating blend of experience, youth and playing styles. Also, the time control of 20 minutes with increment of 2 seconds only after move 40 creates crazy time scrambles. And I absolutely love the scoring system where Black gets 4 points for the win and White receives 3. The result is a competition where momentum can shift dramatically from one board to another, keeping players and spectators engaged until the very last game.
With the league now coming to Bengaluru - a city that has become one of India's foremost centres of chess, technology and innovation - the fourth season promises to be the biggest yet.
The man behind the league - Chairman of the Mahindra Group - Mr. Anand Mahindra
The road to Bengaluru officially began on 29 June 2026, when the six franchises assembled in Mumbai for the Global Chess League Draft. Every team entered the draft with a different strategy. Some chose continuity by retaining the core of their previous squads, while others opted for a complete rebuild, searching for the perfect balance of established stars, exciting youngsters and reliable performers. By the end of the evening, six compelling lineups had emerged, each with its own strengths, questions and championship aspirations.
There was a pool of 36 players. And this is how they had fared in the previous three editions. We have taken 10 games in the round robin stage as the benchmark. The games in the finals have been excluded to keep uniformity.
Not in league this time:
A big miss in this year's edition is going to be Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. Hikaru Nakamura, who played the last two editions, will also be missing this time around.
Let's take a closer look at the teams that will battle for the Global Chess League title in 2026.
Any team that has Magnus Carlsen surely has a huge edge. For sure Magnus is an excellent Icon board for team Alpine APL Pipers. But it might be the first-ever time that we will see Carlsen and Giri together in one team! While the two have immense respect for each other as players, they haven't exactly been on great personal terms, as we see on Twitter. Will they be able to set those differences aside and bond together as a team? It will be interesting to see.
Vidit Gujrathi adds an interesting flavour to this squad. Vidit hasn't been in the best shape in recent times. But with him playing for team India at the Olympiad, he should be prepared for this event. Vidit is also excellent friends with Giri so that is a very positive dynamic for the team.
The women's board has two generations of Indian chess: Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh. They both have had incredible fights against each other - their World Cup 2025 finals comes to mind. I would say the women's board is excellently covered.
And Volodar Murzin on prodigy board, well, I would say he is one of the best rapid players out there. After all, you do not become the World Rapid Champion without reason. If the team manages to handle the human dynamics well, they could really perform excellently.
PS: Interesting to note that Anish Giri, Vidit Gujrathi, Divya Deshmukh and Volodar Murzin were all part of one team at the FIDE World Teams Rapid and Blitz 2025 and 2026: Hexamind.
Anish Giri is the only player who will feature in their team from last year. The Alpine Pipers won in 2025, but Caruana, Pragg and Hou Yifan, who represented that team, are not part of the 2026 squad.
One of the things that has stood out for me in regard to Triveni Continental Kings is their utter professionalism.
The Triveni Continental Kings, who won the 2023 and 2024 editions, dominated in 2025 as well, only to stumble at the final frontier - in the finals against Alpine Pipers. The team has a huge ace in the form of Alireza Firouzja. Not only is Alireza super strong, he is an excellent team player, and combined with Wei Yi's stable play on board two, this is surely their strong point.
Aravindh Chithambaram will make his Global Chess League debut. Historically, Aravindh has been an amazing rapid player. But this will be a big test for the youngster as he will face some of the best players in the world. This is where Triveni Continental Kings will hope that Aravindh brings his best foot forward.
The women's board is tremendous! Alexandra Kosteniuk has been the MVP in the women's superstar board for the league. She has scored heavily and is very good at this short format. I would say Zhu Jiner is an incredible addition as well. She could well be the highest scoring female player in this edition.
The prodigy board features Pranav Venkatesh, another expert at speed chess. Pranav is making his debut at GCL and I think he is one of the stronger prodigies amongst the six.
What a team this is! So many amazing dynamics here. Firstly, Javokhir Sindarov coming to India before the World Championship match is so epic. Next, the couple Javokhir Sindarov and Bibisara Assaubayeva are in the same team.
The superstar men boards are also very exciting for this team, with two super solid players: Daniil Dubov and Nihal Sarin. It might sound weird to put Daniil Dubov in the category of super solid. After all, isn't he the one who sacrifices his entire house to win games? The modern-day Mikhail Tal? Well, that's true. But thanks to the opening theory that has built in a huge way over time, Daniil prefers not to go too wild these days. But if you poke him too much, then the dragon within him does wake up and starts emitting fire. I am sure everyone's excited to see the sacrifices of Dubov in this event. Nihal has already proven himself to be a world-class player in shorter formats.
The women's boards are quite strong with Bibisara Assaubayeva and Sara Khadem. I would say Bibisara is the stronger of the two players when it comes to rapid play. Sara has played two editions of the Global Chess League and has scored a very reasonable 8/15 (she could only play five games in the first edition as she was the halfway mark replacement for Nana Dzagnidze).
The prodigy board with Marc'Andria Maurizzi is quite stable. Marc scored 5½/10 points in the previous edition and should be able to hold fort for the team on the sixth board.
The top three boards of this team are extremely experienced: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Levon Aronian and Leinier Dominguez. While Ian has won the FIDE Candidates twice, Levon Aronian is an absolute class act. He was the icon in the first edition for the Triveni Continental Kings and has always been known as an amazing player. The fact that Aronian and Dominguez are good friends, brings in an interesting vibe to the Ganges Grandmasters team.
As for the women's boards, Polina Shuvalova has played in two editions of GCL with a decent performance (9½/20) while Stavroula Tsolakidou has played in one edition (4/10). The two superstar women players are not the strongest players on their boards, but they are strong rapid players and can beat just about any opponent on a given day. This is also the reason why the team decided to retain them.
The prodigy board on the Ganges Grandmasters team is held by Leon Mendonca. He is surely a rising star of Indian chess. Born in 2006, this is his last year to play on the prodigy board, and Leon would love to surpass his performance of the previous edition (5/10) and keep his team's result. He was part of the Alpine Pipers team last season and the team had won the entire league!
The biggest question for this team would surely be the form of Vishy Anand on the Icon board. Anand has played three editions of GCL, all on the icon board. His performance in 2023 was incredible, with 6/10. But in 2024 he struggled big time, scoring just four draws and six losses. The 2025 edition was quite decent as Vishy scored wins over Gukesh and draws against Hikaru (3½/10). For me, what stands out is Vishy's ability to compete with the best in the business even at the age of 56 years.
The PBG Alaskan Knights have very strong superstar men board in Arjun Erigaisi and the debutant Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus will be one of the most talked about players in this edition. He is just 15 years old, and many claim that he will go on to be the rightful heir of Magnus Carlsen as the best player in the world. This would be quite a nice test for Yagiz.
For a player of Kateryna Lagno's calibre - somehow her score in the Global Chess League has not been representative of her strength. She has just scored 11 points out of the 30 games that she has played. So this edition, she would surely want to set this record straight. Nino Batsiashvili was the highest scoring female player in the 2025 edition. She scored 7/10. She really strengthens the women superstar boards for her team.
Abhimanyu Mishra became a well-known name in the chess world when he achieved the title of GM at the age of 12 years 4 months and 25 days - making him the youngest GM in the world. A record which no one has been able to overtake till date. Him playing this season will be very exciting to watch!
Historically, Upgrad Mumba Masters is a team that likes to retain their players. MVL is someone who joined Upgrad Mumba Masters in 2023 and has ever since remained their icon board. The same goes for Harika. Mamedyarov played for the Upgrad Mumba Masters in the 2025 edition. It was an absolute no-brainer that Daneshvar Bardiya had to be retained in the team. The youngster scored 7½/10 in the 2025 edition.
This season the team will have two debutants in Vladimir Fedoseev and Carissa Yip - both very strong speed chess players who surely increase the strength of the team.
We bring you some of the footages from the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League Draft, and IM Sagar Shah breaks down the teams
Arohi Thatte and Lokesh Natoo break down the draft and tell you all about the teams!
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