PBG Alaskan Knights are just a victory away from booking their berth in the summit clash of the Global Chess League. The Knights, with six wins out of seven matches on Tuesday, took the lead in the standings with 18 match points, six ahead of the chasing Triveni Continental Kings and Alpine Sg Pipers.
With three games to be played yet, one more win would be enough for the Knights to secure the final spot. However, the team does not feel overconfident yet. Anish Giri, PBG’s first player, was very cautious: “It’s not done yet. We still need to get to the final and win. But so far, everything is going well, and I’m happy with that.”
The Mumba Masters had caused a stir earlier in the day with an upset win over the Alpine Sg Pipers. World number one Magnus Carlsen felt incensed as he let a painfully drawn-out endgame slip away, allowing Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to secure the win. Carlsen stormed away immediately after the end. The Mumba Masters then ran riot, scoring an emphatic 14-5 win to deliver what could well prove the final nail in the Pipers’ hopes of catching the Knights.
American Gambits secured a crushing win 14-5 in the second match against Triveni Continental Kings. Their ace Alireza Firouzja succumbed to his first defeat in this tournament. He blundered in an even rook endgame against Hikaru Nakamura. The loss had disturbed Firouzja as he sat quietly at the board, putting the pieces back in place.
In the final match of the day, the struggling Ganges Grandmasters took on the PBG Alaskan Knights. The former took the early lead when Parham Maghsoodloo beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. However, PBG’s Anish Giri did not waste much time as he equalized the scores after beating Vishy Anand on his turn, with Anand committing a costly mistake in the endgame.
Although Nodirbek Abdusattorov had a promising position, he ultimately drew against Arjun Erigaisi. Ganges’ Vaishali Rameshbabu also fought back from a losing position but ended up losing to Tan Zhongyi and sealed at 10-4 for PBG. Nihal Sarin won his game again to push the lead to 15-4 for PBG and seal it as such.
With three rounds remaining, PBG Alaskan Knights is in a very good position to win the league. They are six points ahead of the Triveni and Alpine SG Pipers. The Continental Kings maintain their second place with 12 match points. But trail by nine game points behind the leading PBG team. After being defeated in the last round, the Pipers maintain their third place with the same 12 match points. But with fewer game points compared to Triveni.
American Gambits defeated Triveni Continental Kings 14-5 in the second match of the day. Hitherto unbeaten Alireza Firouzja of Triveni lost an equal rook endgame to Nakamura. Gambits made full use of the momentum thereby winning the match and increasing pressure on Triveni.
With three more rounds remaining in the league, and PBG Alaskan Knights sitting pretty for a place in the finals, yet again the competition is far from over.
ANI