Global Chess League: Alaskan Knights dethrone Continental Kings

In the 6th match of Global Chess League where Balan Alaskan Knights took on Triveni Continental Kings, both sides went in hard and the games were tough. Following a slip of the wrist as early as move eighth, Nino Batsiashvili ended up in a worse position against one of the top Indian female players in the world, Harika Dronavalli. However, while Batsiashvili was managing to hang on, her teammates Tan Zhongyi and Raunak Sadhwani scored victories, giving their team a huge eight-point lead early on.

With top-icon players Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi drawing, the pressure was on Grischuk and Vidit to save the day for upGrad Mumba Masters. As is often the case for Grischuk, he ended up in time trouble early. Despite managing to hang on, in the end, he misplayed and lost. At the same time, Dronavalli finally brought Batsiashvili to defeat – it was clear the Balan Alaskan Knights won the match.

Despite the winner of the match being decided, this was not the end. Vidit Gujrathi of upGrad Mumba Masters managed to secure a winning position against Teimour Radjabov but was in desperate time trouble. After a series of wild moves, where Radjabov was posing problems, fighting back, Vidit finally slipped. In the end, it was a draw, after 123 moves!

The final score in the match was 14:5 in favour of the Balan Alaskan Knights.

Global Chess League Media Release