Global Chess League - Live!

by ChessBase
9/5/2026 – The Tech Mahindra Global Chess League returns for its fourth season from 5 to 13 September in Bengaluru, continuing its franchise-based format that combines elite male and female players. Featuring a team structure, the league brings together elite grandmasters and rising stars, with the title to be decided through a double round-robin stage followed by a two-match final. | Follow the action live starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST)
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Day 1

The fourth season of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (TechM GCL) is taking place from 5 to 13 September, continuing the franchise-based competition that brings together elite players in mixed-gender teams. The league features a joint team format, with men and women competing alongside each other.

Each team fields six players in a fixed order for the duration of the event. The highest-rated player, designated as the Icon, plays on board one. Boards two and three must be occupied by men, boards four and five by women, and board six by a junior player born in 2004 or later.

The league is divided into a Preliminary Stage and a Final. The preliminary stage is a double round-robin. The two teams with the most match points will qualify to the final, while the teams finishing third and fourth will compete in a match for third place.

All games are played with 20 minutes for the entire game, with a 2-second increment starting from move 41.

Live games and commentary

Teams

Global Chess League 2026

Triveni Continental Kings CheQ Mumbai Masters Ganges Grandmasters
Icon Alireza Firouzja Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Ian Nepomniachtchi
Superstar Men Wei Yi Vladimir Fedoseev Levon Aronian
Superstar Men Aravindh Chithambaram Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Leinier Dominguez
Superstar Women Alexandra Kosteniuk Carissa Yip Stavroula Tsolakidou
Superstar Women Zhu Jiner Harika Dronavalli Polina Shuvalova
Prodigy Pranav Venkatesh Bardiya Daneshvar Leon Luke Mendonca
Alpine APL Pipers Fyers American Gambits PBG Alaskan Knights
Icon Magnus Carlsen Javokhir Sindarov Viswanathan Anand
Superstar Men Vidit Gujrathi Nihal Sarin Arjun Erigaisi
Superstar Men Anish Giri Daniil Dubov Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus
Superstar Women Humpy Koneru Bibisara Assaubayeva Nino Batsiashvili
Superstar Women Divya Deshmukh Sara Khadem Kateryna Lagno
Prodigy Volodar Murzin Marc'Andria Maurizzi Abhimanyu Mishra

Links

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Video

60m English Anti-Bayonet

King’s Indian fans who choose the Mar del Plata attack (7...Nc6) against White’s classical system (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0) usually aim for a complex position with mutual attacks on open wings, requiring long-term strategic planning and tactical sharpness in critical moments. Computers often do not know how to handle the arising complex strategic positions, which suits players who like to think on their own instead of memorizing long variations. However, the fashionable Bayonet Attack (9.b4) interferes with Black’s ideas. After Black’s main move 9...Nh5 the positions opens, the lines get forced and computer analysis is important again. But this DVD offers an antidote against White’s Bayonet Attack, namely 9...a5! This move leads to sound positions with very few concrete lines, in which the focus is on strategy not on tactics. Objectively chances are equal but if Black knows what to do things might quickly become dangerous for White.