Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 : Mumba Masters finished runners-up in a nail-biting finale at the star-studded Global Chess League which recently concluded in Dubai.
After 10 rounds of the double round-robin tournament, Mumba Masters qualified for the Grand Finale as global chess fans witnessed a thrilling battle through the Rapid Chess format and the Blitz round thereafter, given the draw across the 2 matches to decide the Champions.
"It's safe to say that the Chess world witnessed something of epic proportions with this Grand Finale, something quite extraordinary. While it's unfortunate not to be crowned Champions, something had to give at the end of it all, given the speed of play and the pressure the players were under. I'm so proud of the way our team came together as one tight unit from day one and played for each other through the tournament. We come away with our heads held high having been the first team to win a match, draw a match, defeat Magnus Carlsen and also pull off the biggest win in the Tournament, all while showcasing true team spirit in what is otherwise known to be an individual sport. As a Franchise at U Mumba, it's our first sporting Final in 8 years and we do hope we can continue the good work into UTT & Pro Kabaddi," xsaid Harika Dronavalli.
The match was dragged into sudden death where Harika Dronavalli, Alexander Grischuk and Koneru Humpy settled for draws under the immense pressure of Blitz time controls of 3 minutes plus two-second increments per move.
However, Mumba Masters' 17-year-old prodigy, Javokhir Sindarov, who defeated his opponent five times out of six in the tournament, including four wins in the final, unfortunately, could not hold on to his winning streak in the sudden death.
"It was a wonderful run in the inaugural season of the Global Chess League. We played a final that will be remembered for a long time to come. I would like to thank our team owner Ronnie Screwvala and our CEO Suhail Chandhok for their support from day 1 and in the span of just 12 days it feels like we have truly created wonderful bonds in the team and it's been great to join the U Mumba family with a Runners-Up medal," India's experienced chess player Harika Dronavalli said.
The inaugural edition of the Global Chess League reached its climax in the grand final which took place in Dubai. In a never-before-seen nail-biting ending to a chess event, the winner was decided through three stages of tie-breaks.
After two rounds of rapid ending in a draw, and then another two rounds of blitz which also finished with draws, the Champion was decided in a series of sudden-death blitz games where the decisive outcome came in the fourth game.
In a spectacular finish, Danish 19-year-old Grandmaster Jonas Bjerre brought victory to Triveni Continental Kings after defeating Uzbek 17-year-old prodigy Javokhir Sindarov in a suspenseful game.
The Champion was decided between the Triveni Continental Kings (led by one of the strongest world GMs, Levon Aronian) and Mumba Masters (steered by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the 2021 World Blitz Champion) in rapid, blitz and sudden-death matches.
Scores for Rapid Matches:
Match 1: Triveni Continental Kings Vs Mumba Masters - 9:7
Match 2: Mumba Masters Vs. Triveni Continental Kings - 12:3
Players of the match
King of the match: Jonas Bjerre
Queen of the match: Kateryna Lagno
King of the series: GM Praggnanandhaa R. from SG Alpine Warriors
Queen of the series: GM Tan Zhongyi from Balan Alaskan Knights.
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