Gukesh, Erigaisi snapped up by PBG Alaskan Knights in GCL draft

Mumbai, Sep 26 (PTI) Top Indian Grandmasters, world champion D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi, will represent PBG Alaskan Knights in the upcoming Global Chess League after the duo was snapped up in a high-stakes player draft by the franchise for the third edition of the lucrative event, here on Friday.

A joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE, the third edition of GCL featuring six teams will be held here from December 13 to 24.

The 'Icon round' set the ball rolling as Alpine SG Pipers snapped up American GM Fabiano Caruana, PBG Alaskan Knights edged out rivals to secure Gukesh, while five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand continued to be with the Ganges Grandmasters.

World No. 5 Erigaisi sparked a three-way contest with PBG Alaskan Knights prevailing in the end.

American Grandmaster Wesley So triggered fierce bidding before being snapped up by upGrad Mumba Masters. Ganges Grandmasters strengthened their roster with 20-year-old Vincent Keymer.

"We had a big task because we had to pick all six players, and we are happy that we got world champion Gukesh, along with a balanced team in the end. They (Gukesh and Arjun) will be more than happy to satisfy the fans with their performance. It's (GCL) happening in India, and it will definitely bring more cheer to our team," said PBG Alaskan Knights coach Abhijit Kunte.

Ahead of the draft, four teams strengthened their sides by retaining key players. Alpine SG Pipers retained Hou Yifan and R Praggnanandhaa, while American Gambits secured Hikaru Nakamura and Bibisara Assaubayeva.

Alireza Firouzja, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Wei Yi stayed with Triveni Continental Kings following their title win last season.

GMs Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli, as well as GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, were retained by upGrad Mumba Masters.

The player draft was held over four rounds, as the pool of players was segmented into "Icon Players", "Men's", "Women's", and "U-21 Prodigy" categories.

GCL will be played over 12 days with teams competing in a double-round-robin format. Each team will play 10 matches, decided on a best-of-six board system.

GCL Squads: American Gambits: Hikaru Nakamura, Richard Rapport, Vladislav Artemiev, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Teodora Injac, Volodar Murzin.

Alpine SG Pipers: Fabiano Caruana, R Praggnanandhaa, Anish Giri, Hou Yifan, Nino Batsiashvili, Leon Mendonca.

Ganges Grandmasters: Viswanathan Anand, Javokhir Sindarov, Vincent Keymer, Stavroula Tsolakidou, Polina Shuvalova, Raunak Sadhwani.

UpGrad Mumba Masters: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Wesley So, Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Bardiya Daneshvar.

PBG Alaskan Knights: D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Leinier Dominguez, Sara Khadem, Kateryna Lagno, Daniel Dardha.

Triveni Continental Kings: Alireza Firouzja, Yi Wei, Vidit Gujrathi, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Zhu Jiner, Marc’Andria Maurizzi. PTI AM AM SSC SSC