‘Unfortunate things happen’: Arjun Erigaisi explains Vishwanathan Anand’s poor GCL despite team win

Arjun Erigaisi and Viswanathan Anand (Photo by ChessBase India) BENGALURU: It was a different day, a different line-up and a different proposition for every team looking to seal a spot in the top two. But what remained the same was Viswanathan Anand’s miserable run at the 2026 Global Chess League (GCL) at Hotel Lalit Ashok on Wednesday. This time the defeat came against veteran grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who had the white pieces.Although Anand’s side, the Alaskan Knights, eventually won the match against the Mumba Masters of the MVL, the Indian legend, still winless with five defeats from seven games, endured a difficult exit despite putting in competitive performances and showing flashes of brilliance on the ‘Icon’ board against some of the strongest players in the field.Fellow Indian grandmaster and Anand’s teammate Arjun Erigaisi spoke to the media after the match about the veteran’s tough run and why his results don’t tell the whole story.Asked about Anand’s recent lack of form on the board, Arjun said: “At this age, I can’t imagine how many people would be playing at this level. Even though he lost some games, it wasn’t like he was outplayed or anything.”Arjun emphasized that Anand, now 56, continues to compete on equal terms with the younger generation of players.“They are still directly competing with most of these young players. It is only in the last moments that some unfortunate things happen,” he added. “It’s hugely inspiring to see him playing so well at this age.”The 23-year-old also discussed the conversations players have off the pitch, especially after wins and losses, and how they deal with mistakes.“Just analyze the important things that happened and try to fix what can be done,” he revealed. “For example, I was missing a lot of basic tactics in the earlier games. So I was doing some puzzles. Yeah, just little, little things that might matter.”

Mumba Masters missed the chance to come out on top

In the third match of the day, the Mumba Masters had an opportunity to move to the top of the standings when they faced the white piece Alaskan Knights.Mumba Masters seemed on course for victory until the closing stages. Carissa Yip, who had a significantly better position, eventually lost to Nino Batsiashvili on time.Abhimanyu Mishra then responded to Tuesday’s woes with a crucial win over Bardiya Daneshvar. His win helped the Alaskan Knights seal the match and also earned Mishra the Player of the Match award. And although MVL defeated Anand and drew the other three boards, Mumba Masters missed a golden opportunity to show their authority on the points table.Earlier in the day, APL Pipers consolidated their position with an 11-6 win over Mumba Masters while Ganges Grandmasters beat Triveni Continental Kings 15-3.In Wednesday’s final match, American Gambits defeated Triveni Continental Kings 8-5 to move to the top of the table.GCL 2026 Points TableRankTeamMWLDMPGP1American Gambits743012602APL Pipers642012583Ganges Grandmasters642012554Mumba Masters73409595Alaskan Knights73409586Triveni Continental Kings7250652Matches of day 6 GCL 2026: Thursday 10 SeptemberTime 3:30 PM PMAPL Pipers vs Ganges Grandmasters 5:00 PM Mumba Masters vs Triveni Continental Kings 6:30 PM PMAPL Pipers vs Alaskan Knights 8:00 PM Ganges Grandmasters vs American Gambits