India's Vishwanathan Anand of Ganges Grandmasters
London: Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura and Elisabeth Paehtz led the charge for the American Gambits as they scored a crucial 10-4 victory against the Viswanathan Anand-led Ganges Grandmasters in the opening round on day four of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League here on Sunday.
With four losses in five matches, Anand's team is in serious trouble.
The American Gambits entered the day at the bottom of the standings with only one victory in three matches. Just ahead of them, in fifth place, were the Ganges Grandmasters, who had played four matches but secured only one win.
After the toss of the coin, it was decided that the Gambits would play with the white pieces.
On the 'Icon' board, world number two and renowned chess streamer Nakamura surprised former five-time world champion and Ganges leader Anand with an unexpected opening.
Despite the early surprise, Anand, playing black, equalised quickly, and the game remained balanced for most of its duration. However, as time factor kicked in, Anand made the bold decision to sacrifice his queen for a rook and a bishop in the hope of building a "fortress," a defensive setup where one side has a material disadvantage but can avoid being checkmated.
Nakamura maintained the pressure, forcing Anand to spend more time on the clock. In the final seconds, Anand looked visibly shaken and Nakamura ultimately claimed victory, leveraging the time pressure.
After the match Nakamura said, "My focus was just on this match, because whoever lost would be out of contention to win the event." An interesting game unfolded on the women's board, where Ganges' Nurgyul Salimova launched an aggressive attack against Elisabeth's king. However, the German defended brilliantly, emerging a piece up and winning, giving the Gambits a crucial edge in the match.
On the second 'Icon' board, Parham Maghsoodloo managed to secure a draw against Wei Yi by pulling off several moves in rapid succession, resulting in a threefold repetition.
On the other boards, Bibisara Assaubayeva and R Vaishali drew their game, while superstars Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Arjun Erigaisi also settled for a draw. Similarly, the two juniors — Jonas Bjerre and Volodar Murzin — ended their game in a stalemate.
The final score of the match was 10-4 in favour of the American Gambits, marking an important win for Nakamura's team, which now had two victories out of four matches.
With four losses in five matches, the Ganges Grandmasters find themselves in serious trouble and need to find a way to halt the slide.
PBG Alaskan Knights score win
Tournament leaders PBG Alaskan Knights faced a tough challenge from third-placed Alpine Sg Pipers before overcoming them 9-7 in a thrilling contest that saw their main player Anish Giri make a stunning blunder.
The match's biggest upset occurred on the 'Icon' board, where Anish Giri blundered a piece against Pipers' Magnus Carlsen, losing in just 22 moves in the shortest game of the league so far, which lasted only 20 minutes.
On the superstars' board, Mamedyarov drew with Rapport, while Abdusattorov delivered a crushing victory over R. Praggnanandhaa in a rook endgame, scoring a first win for PBG Alaskan Knights.
The momentum shifted further in favour of the PBG Alaskan Knights when Tan Zhongyi, in a duel of former world champions, defeated Hou Yifan. Kashlinskaya and Lagno drew on the women's board, bringing the score to 8-6 for PBG.
The drama escalated on the final board in play, where PBG's Nihal Sarin was winning against Daniel Dardha but faced severe time pressure. With just three seconds left, Sarin claimed a draw under the rules.
With this win, PBG Alaskan Knights extended their winning streak to five rounds.
Season one champions, Triveni's 'Icon' player, Alireza Firouzja, continued his impressive form against top-tier opponents, comfortably defeating Mumba Masters' Maxime Vachier-Lagrave as his side won the contest 12-3. Wei Yi then secured a victory over Vidit Gujrathi, while Gunina triumphed overcame D Harika on the women's board.
With the remaining games ending in draws, Triveni emerged big winners.