GCL: Mumba Masters win 2nd successive game, emerge early leaders

Mumbai, Dec 15 (PTI) A supremely confident upGrad Mumba Masters came up with another grand performance, beating Fyers American Gambits 9-7 to make it two wins on the trot and go on top of the table in the Global Chess League here on Monday.

Ganges Grandmasters also mounted a stunning comeback to beat Alpine SG Pipers 13-7 with black for their first win of GCL Season 3.

After some initial pressure, upGrad Mumba steadied themselves with American GM Wesley So holding Vladislav Artemiev to a draw, which was followed by Koneru Humpy mounting a strong comeback to also split the point, keeping the scores level at 2–2.

The momentum swung sharply when Shakhriyar Mamedyarov outplayed Richard Rapport by patiently building a dominant position to give upGrad Mumba a 5–2 lead in a crucial spell.

The tie turned decisively when Bardiya Daneshvar stunned reigning World Rapid champion Volodar Murzin, sealing the win for Masters.

Though Teodora Injac drew with Dronavalli Harika and Hikaru Nakamura struck back with a composed black win over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave using the Petrov Defence, the damage was done by then as upGrad Mumba closed out a 9–7 victory. Mamedyarov, who was named Player of the Match, said: "It was an amazing game, with sacrifices. A very good win for the team, and I hope to continue playing like this. Winning even one match feels great, so to win two in a row makes it very special." Alpine SG Pipers and Ganges Grandmasters entered the tie searching for a first win, with the 'Icon' clash between American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana and India's five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand setting the tone.

Caruana delivered under pressure, pressing relentlessly to secure a vital win and put the Alpine SG Pipers 3–0 up. Pipers' GM Anish Giri was held to a hard-fought draw by Vincent Keymer despite sustained pressure from the Dutchman.

Nino Batsiashvili then added to Pipers' tally by defeating Stavroula Tsolakidou but Ganges Grandmasters' Raunak Sadhwani, Javokhir Sindarov and Polina Shuvalova delivered crucial wins.

Shuvalova capped the surge by using her rooks to mate Pipers' Hou Yifan, completing a stunning turnaround as Ganges claimed a 13–7 victory.

Raunak, who was declared Player of the Match said: "I was confident today. I played faster, put pressure on the board and the clock. I'm very happy the team won, that's what matters in the end." PTI AM AM SSC SSC