GCL: Ganga Grandmasters Revolt on Day 7; Magnus Carlsen gives the POTM trophy to Vidit Gujrathi

ByTech Word News

Magnus Carlsen gives the POTM trophy to Vidit Gujrathi (GCL Photo) BENGALURU: Gang grandmasters and defending champions APL Pipers boosted their chances of reaching the finals of the Global Chess League after convincing victories in the penultimate round of Season 4 in Bengaluru on Friday. The two teams now only need to win their final head-to-head on Saturday to secure a place in the title race.Ganges Grandmasters produced the biggest win of the tournament when they beat Mumba Masters 16-1 while Pipers defeated American Gambits 9-7 in a crucial battle between the top two teams.The results left Ganges and Pipers level on 18 match points, but Ganges moved into first place with 88 game points, four more than Pipers.The Pipers’ victory was highlighted by world number one Magnus Carlsen ending Candidates 2026 winner Javokhir Sindarov’s three-match winning streak.As Divya Deshmukh’s difficult GCL debut continued as she ran out of time against Bibisara Assaubayev, Carlsen controlled the encounter with the icon, forcing Sindarov to retire after 36 moves.He was named man of the match but then handed the trophy to teammate Vidit Gujrathi, who sealed the match by defeating Daniil Dubov.Vidit won a marathon 96-move battle on the Superstar Men board and kept his composure in the time scramble to convert another knight and pawn against Dubov’s rook.“First of all, I think it was a great match with a very good team performance. We are delighted to win. I was pretty good in my game at the beginning but he (Sindarov) put up a big fight but I was able to wriggle out and find the win,” Carlsen said before handing over the MOTM trophy to Vidit.“I don’t deserve this ‘man of the match’ as ​​much as the man who won us the match,” said the five-time world champion in classic style, acknowledging Vidita’s contribution.Ian Nepomniachtchi, Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Stavroula Tsolakidou and Leon Luke Mendonca all won their matches with White to give Ganga a commanding victory. Polina Shuvalova drew with Harika while Mumba Masters suffered a heavy defeat.In the other game of the day, the Triveni Continental Kings defeated the Alaskan Knights 13-7. Triveni’s Zhu Jiner registered her first win of the tournament against Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Nino Batsiashvili and Pranav Venkatesh defeated Abhimanya Mishra. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi of the Knights also defeated Wei Yi, while 15-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus defeated Aravindh Chithambaram. But these victories were not enough to take them home.Ganges and Pipers qualify for the finals with wins, while Gambits need one of the top two teams to lose and must beat Mumba Masters by a convincing margin to keep their hopes alive.

GCL 2026 Points Table after Day 7

Pos.TeamMPGP1Ganges Grandmasters18882APL Pipers18823American Gambits15804Mumba Masters12745Alaskan Knights9716Triveni Continental Kings970

GCL 2026 Draw for Day 8 – Saturday 12 September

  • 5pm: Triveni Continental Kings vs APL Pipers
  • 18:30: Alaskan Knights vs Gangs Grandmasters
  • 20:00: American Gambits vs Mumba Masters