GCL Invitational Chess tournament in Mumbai!
Global Chess League, Having a unique team format, a huge prize fund, and both male and female players in each team, the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League will be a game-changer in over-the-board chess, kicking off in Dubai on 21st June.
Since the Global Chess League is starting in just a few weeks from now, a special event was held in Mumbai for creating awareness about this league. The event happened at the Bandra Fort with the Beautiful Bandra Worli Sea Link in the background at sunset time. It was a true chess fest organized by Tech Mahindra and Technically coordinated by Nodwin Gaming & Chessbase India.
Pool Stage :
It was a team event with 3,1,0,4 Scoring System. Yes! It was 3,1,0,4 which means a Win with White Pieces gives you Three Points, Draw gives One point to both players while for a Win with Black Pieces, you get Four Points! The event attracted the registration of 32 Teams which were divided into Four Pools of Almost Equal Average Rating. The Pool Stage Rounds were played in a Swiss league with Multi Game format (Players need to play both the colors against same opponent and the collective result will decide the match score) in a total of Three rounds. At the end of the Pool Stage match, The top team from Each pool qualified for the Knockout Stage.
Final Standings for Pool Stage Matches :
Pool A: Click Here | Pool B: Click Here | Pool C: Click Here | Pool D: Click Here
Semi-Finals :
Team Bandstand Ka Raja who finished in Top Spot faced Pool C Toppers ZORO FTW. It was a mouthwatering encounter as Zoro FTW comprising Vishal Dharia, Mihir Shah & Shailesh Baria demolished the Top Seeded team of IMs with a score of 1 - 9 in-game One! The only IM who managed to hold the game to Draw was IM Nubairshah Shaikh. It was a shocking defeat Bandstand Ka Raja in the very first game of the Semi-Finals but they Bounced back solidly as IM Nubairshah & IM Raahil Mullik Scored Convincing wins in their Second game while IM Shantanu Bhambure managed to Hold his opponent to a Draw. As the scores were leveled, a random board was called for a playoff. IM Nubairshah Shaikh won both games smoothly to take his team to the finals!
Semi-final Two was Played between table toppers of Poo B & Pool D where The Bongclouders faced off against The Tactical Titans. The Boungclouders were clear rating favorites but the Young Guns of Mumbai from Team Tactical Titans held them to an equal score in Game One. WIM Srishtee Pandey was surprised by Jeet Shah on the top board while Yohan Boricha held Akash Dalvi to a draw on Board Three. IM Vedant Panesar scored a comfortable win on Board 2 against Rachit Gurnani in the first game.
Jeet Shah dethroned WIM Srishtee Pandey again in the second game on the Top Board but as IM Vedant Panesar and Akash Dalvi Managed to win their Games easily with the Black pieces, The Bongclouders advanced to the Finals.
Third Place Match :
The losers of both the Semi-Finals faced each other in a Two Game Third place match where Zoro FTW went on to Score a 6-4 lead in the First Game. But the Tactical Titans Pulled off a miraculous victory in the second game with White Pieces and Won the Match as they scored 9-0 against Zoro FTW.
Finals :
The Tournament Favourites Bandstand Ka Raja and The Bongclouders were up against each other in a breezy and drizzling atmosphere at Bandra Bandstand. The crowd was excited to witness the year's first Mumbai Rain and an amazing final of the first of its Kind GCL Invitational Chess Tournament. Bandstand Ka Raja outplayed The Bongclouders with White Pieces with a score of 9-0. The Bongclouders Bounced back with Two Victories in the next game as IM Vedant Panesar pulled off a win in a completely lost position against IM Rahil Mullik and Akash Dalvi managed to win his game against Newly crowned IM Shantanu Bhambure. IM Nubairshah Shaikh managed to hold WIM Srishtee Pandey to a draw in a slightly minus position for a perfect podium finish.
Winner's Team :
Winners: 10th Generation Ipads to all Three Team Members+ Trophies
Runner Ups: Trophies to all Three Team Members
Second Runner Ups: 3 * Chessbase Premium Membership for One Year
Fourth Place : 3 * ChessBase India Premium Chess sets
Youngest Team : 3* ChessPa in Chess Adventure Park