Handshakes fail twice: Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave share hilarious moment at GCL – WATCH
Magnus Carlsen (image credit: X) Magnus Carlsen is known for making headlines with his moves on the chess board. But on the opening day of the Global Chess League, the five-time world champion gave fans something to laugh about off the court.After his game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Carlsen tried to shake his opponent’s hand. However, the first attempt did not go as expected. After a short pause, he tried again – and the handshake went wrong a second time.The awkward moment made both players laugh.Meanwhile, the home fans had plenty to cheer about as Fyers American Gambits got the tournament off to a good start.The American Gambits opened their campaign with a 10-4 win over the PBG Alaskan Knights and later came away with an even bigger victory. They defeated the Triveni Continental Kings 15-4 and handed the most successful team in GCL history a heavy defeat.The Continental Kings won the first two seasons of the league and finished second last year.While American Gambits enjoyed a memorable opening day, Carlsen’s return was another major talking point.The Norwegian returned to the Global Chess League after missing last year’s edition in Mumbai. Representing defending champion Alpine APL Pipers, Carlsen held Cheq Mumba Masters’ Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to a draw.Carlsen couldn’t win his individual match but Alpine Pipers came through to beat Mumba Masters 10-8.However, the defending champions have a significantly changed squad this season. Anish Giri is the only player from last year’s team to win the title.It was a tough day for Triveni Continental Kings. They first lost 9-10 to Ganges Grandmasters before suffering another heavy defeat against American Gambits.With the double round leg ahead of us, the Continental Kings will need to quickly regroup and find their form.ResultsFyers American Gambits defeated PBG Alaskan Knights 10-4
- Javokhir Sindarov defeated Viswanathan Anand
- Nihal Sarin tied with Arjun Erigaisi
- Daniil Dubov – Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus
- Bibisara Assaubayeva drew with Kateryna Lagno
- Sarasadat Khademalsharieh tied with Nin Batsiashvili
- Marc’Andria Maurizzi defeated Abhimanya Mishra
Grand champions Ganga defeated Triveni Continental Kings 10-9
- Ian Nepomniachtchi drew with Alireza Firouzja
- Levon Aronian defeated Wei Yi
- Leinier Dominguez Perez lost to Aravindh Chithambaram
- Polina Shuvalova defeated Zhu Jiner
- Stavroul Tsolakidou defeated Alexandru Kosteniuk
- Leon Mendonca lost to V. Pranav
Alpine APL Pipers beat Cheq Mumba Masters 10-8
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave drew with Magnus Carlsen
- M. Pranesh defeated Anish Giri
- Shakhriyar Mamedyarov lost to Vidit Gujrathi
- D. Harika defeated Divya Deshmukh
- Carissa Yip lost to Koneru Humpy
- Bardiya Daneshvar drew with Volodar Murzin
Fyers American Gambits defeated Triveni Continental Kings 14-5
- Alireza Firouzja drew with Javokhir Sindarov
- Wei Yi lost to Nihal Sarin
- Aravindh Chithambaram lost to Daniil Dubov
- Zhu Jiner drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva
- Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Sarasadata Khademalsharieh
- V. Pranav lost to Marc’Andria Maurizzi