Javokhir Sindarov's second consecutive win, this time against Alireza Firouzja, put the FYERS American Gambits at the top of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League 2026, while the Triveni Continental Kings dropped to last place after losing both their matches of the day.

Also near the top are two teams that have played one match fewer: the Alpine APL Pipers, for whom Magnus Carlsen beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Ian Nepomniachtchi's Ganges Grandmasters, who defeated the Continental Kings.

The entrance of the gladiators. | Photo: Global Chess League

The Pipers briefly moved into the lead after an 11-6 victory over the CheQ Mumba Masters in Wednesday's opening match. The Gambits ended the day ahead of them on board points after beating the Triveni Continental Kings 8-5.

Elsewhere, the Ganges Grandmasters crushed the Continental Kings 15-3, while the Mumba Masters suffered a second defeat, losing 11-6 to the PBG Alaskan Knights.

Alpine APL Pipers – CheQ Mumba Masters 11-6

After playing their first five matches with Black, the Pipers had White for the first time and made the most of it. Magnus Carlsen beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a game that looked balanced after the opening but ended surprisingly quickly. Carlsen took control as the Frenchman's position collapsed within a few moves.

On board two Anish Giri won a fine game against Pranesh M. | Photo: Global Chess League

Volodar Murzin then beat Bardiya Daneshvar to secure the match win for the Pipers. Harika Dronavalli's victory over Divya Deshmukh was the Mumba Masters' only success in the match.

Triveni Continental Kings - Ganges Grandmasters 3:15 

The teams greet each other | Photo: Global Chess League

The second match of the day produced a remarkable turnaround. The Continental Kings appeared to be heading for victory, with winning positions on several boards, but the match then swung completely in favour of the Ganges Grandmasters.

Polina Shuvalova turned her game against Zhu Jiner around to score her fifth win in six games, while Leon Luke Mendonca capitalised on a mistake by Pranav V. Stavroula Tsolakidou completed the comeback by beating former women's world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.

Mumba Masters - PBG Alaskan Knights 6:11

The Mumba Masters had a chance to take the lead and looked set to win, but Carissa Yip lost on time to Nino Batsiashvili in a winning position. Abhimanyu Mishra then beat Bardiya Daneshvar to secure victory for the Alaskan Knights and was named Player of the Match.

Things did not go well for Vishy Anand, but his team won a thrilling match. | Photo: Global Chess League

Vishy Anand again struggled on the icon board. He handled Vachier-Lagrave's opening surprise well, but eventually reached a rook ending that was still theoretically drawn despite being two pawns down. One inaccurate rook move proved decisive, and Vachier-Lagrave converted.

Fyers American Gambits - Triveni Continental Kings 8:5

In the final match of the day, 2026 Candidates winner Javokhir Sindarov convincingly defeated Alireza Firouzja on the icon board. With all five other games drawn, Sindarov's win decided the match in favour of the Gambits.

Sindarov against Firouzja | Photo: Global Chess League 

Standings

Games

Opening Encyclopaedia 2026

YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY
Be well prepared with the new Opening Encyclopaedia 2026! Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product and is the ideal start for your opening training. Many new articles enrich the current theory with new or revisited ideas. The Encyclopaedia can help you learn openings quickly and give you a head start on your next opponent. Each article contains explanations and annotated games illustrating typical plans to deepen your understanding.

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