The 2026 Global Chess League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League 2026, was the fourth season of the annual over-the-board rapid chess league organized by FIDE. The tournament took place from 5 to 13 September 2026 at The Lalit Ashok in Bengaluru, India.
It featured six teams of six players each, and involved ten round-robin matches, followed by a final match between the top two teams. Ganges Grandmasters, led by Ian Nepomniachtchi won the event after defeating the defending champions Alpine APL Pipers, led by Magnus Carlsen in the final.
Background and venue Following past iterations held in Dubai (2023), London (2024), and Mumbai (2025), the event was hosted in Bengaluru. The official player draft was conducted in Mumbai on 29 June 2026, establishing six-player rosters across the six participating franchises. The total prize fund for the tournament remained at US$1,000,000.
Regulations and scoring The tournament employed a mixed-gender format in which matches were contested across six fixed boards concurrently.
Squad structure Each team featured six players designated by specific category requirements: Board 1: Icon Player Boards 2 & 3: Superstar Men Boards 4 & 5: Superstar Women Board 6: Prodigy (players born in 2005 or later)
Time control Games were played under a rapid time control of 20 minutes per player for all moves, with an increment of 2 seconds per move starting only from move 41.
Scoring system Individual matches used an asymmetrical point system to reward victories achieved with the black pieces: Game Points (GP): Win with the black pieces: 4 points Win with the white pieces: 3 points Draw: 1 point Loss: 0 points Match Points (MP): Match victory (higher aggregate GP): 3 points Match draw (equal aggregate GP): 1 point Match defeat: 0 points
Competition structure The event began with a double round-robin tournament of 10 rounds, where every franchise faced each opponent twice—once playing White across all boards and once playing Black. The two franchises that finished with the highest number of match points (with game points serving as the primary tiebreaker) advanced to a two-match final on 13 September 2026.
Group stage Standings + Pos Team Pld W D L Qualification 1 Ganges Grandmasters 10 6 0 4 18 95 Advance to Final match 2 Alpine APL Pipers 10 6 0 4 18 88 3 FYERS American Gambits 10 5 0 5 15 86 Advance to Third place match 4 CheQ Mumba Masters 10 5 0 5 15 85 5 Triveni Continental Kings 10 4 0 6 12 81 6 PBG Alaskan Knights 10 4 0 6 12 80 Final Standings.
Final The championship was scheduled to be decided in a two-match series on 13 September 2026 between the top two teams from the round-robin stage. Third place
+Name12Total CheQ Mumba Masters00 0 FYERS American Gambits11 2
Results Match 1CheQ Mumba Masters2½–3½FYERS American GambitsMaxime Vachier-Lagrave½–½Javokhir SindarovPranesh M0–1Nihal SarinShakhriyar Mamedyarov½–½Daniil DubovHarika Dronavalli1–0Bibisara AssaubayevaCarissa Yip½–½Sarasadat KhademalshariehBardiya Daneshvar0–1Marc'Andria Maurizzi Match 2FYERS American Gambits4–2CheQ Mumba MastersJavokhir Sindarov½–½Maxime Vachier-LagraveNihal Sarin1–0Pranesh MDaniil Dubov½–½Shakhriyar MamedyarovBibisara Assaubayeva½–½Harika DronavalliSarasadat Khademalsharieh½–½Carissa YipMarc'Andria Maurizzi1–0Bardiya Daneshvar
Final
+Name12Total Ganges Grandmasters½1 1½ Alpine APL Pipers½0 ½
Results Match 1Ganges Grandmasters3–3Alpine APL PipersIan Nepomniachtchi½–½Magnus CarlsenLevon Aronian1–0Anish GiriLeinier Domínguez½–½Vidit GujrathiPolina Shuvalova½–½Divya DeshmukhStavroula Tsolakidou½–½Koneru HumpyLeon Luke Mendonca0–1Volodar Murzin Match 2Alpine APL Pipers2–4Ganges GrandmastersMagnus Carlsen0–1Ian NepomniachtchiAnish Giri½–½Levon AronianVidit Gujrathi½–½Leinier DomínguezDivya Deshmukh½–½Polina ShuvalovaKoneru Humpy0–1Stavroula TsolakidouVolodar Murzin½–½Leon Luke Mendonca
Franchises and rosters The squads for the 2026 edition comprised thirty-six players representing twelve national federations:
Franchise Icon Board Superstar Men Superstar Women Prodigy Board Coach Alpine APL Pipers Magnus Carlsen Anish Giri Vidit Gujrathi Divya Deshmukh Koneru Humpy Volodar Murzin Pravin Thipsay Triveni Continental Kings Alireza Firouzja Wei Yi Aravindh Chithambaram Zhu Jiner Alexandra Kosteniuk Pranav V Loek van Wely FYERS American Gambits Javokhir Sindarov Daniil Dubov Nihal Sarin Bibisara Assaubayeva Sarasadat Khademalsharieh Marc'Andria Maurizzi Srinath Narayanan Ganges Grandmasters Ian Nepomniachtchi Levon Aronian Leinier Domínguez Polina Shuvalova Stavroula Tsolakidou Leon Luke Mendonca Baskaran Adhiban PBG Alaskan Knights Viswanathan Anand Arjun Erigaisi Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş Kateryna Lagno Nino Batsiashvili Abhimanyu Mishra Swayams Mishra CheQ Mumba Masters Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Vladimir Fedoseev Carissa Yip Harika Dronavalli Bardiya Daneshvar Pentala Harikrishna
+Alpine APL PipersBoardPlayerRatingResults12345678910Score1 Magnus Carlsen2803½½1½½1½1106.52 Anish Giri26590½½½½10½½½4.53 Vidit Gujrathi262411010½½01054 Divya Deshmukh241900½½½0½½0½35 Koneru Humpy24361101½½01½½66 Volodar Murzin2620½½½101½1½16.5 +CheQ Mumba MastersBoardPlayerRatingResults12345678910Score1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave2706½½1½½0110052 Pranesh M253410½100½½014.53 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov2694011½1½½10½64 Harika Dronavalli24151½1½½1½½½½6.55 IM Carissa Yip235600011½00013.56 Bardiya Daneshvar2546½001½001014 +FYERS American GambitsBoardPlayerRatingResults12345678910Score1 Javokhir Sindarov27301½0½½111016.52 Nihal Sarin2698½11½11½0½063 Daniil Dubov2685½1½000½10½44 Bibisara Assaubayeva2444½½0½½0½11½55 IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh2366½0½000½½½02.56 Marc'Andria Maurizzi256811½0½1½1½06 +PBG Alaskan KnightsResultsBoardPlayerRating12345678910Score1 Viswanathan Anand27210½0½0000½½22 Arjun Erigaisi2745½1½010½½1½5.53 Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş2492½01001½11164 Kateryna Lagno2421½½½101½½0½55 Nino Batsiashvili2407½1101110005.56 Abhimanyu Mishra259801½½0010014 +Ganges GrandmastersBoardPlayerRatingResults12345678910Score1 Ian Nepomniachtchi2729½½1½1½½01½62 Levon Aronian27501½000½111½5.53 Leinier Domínguez265500½½1½½01044 IM Polina Shuvalova2398111½11½0½½75 IM Stavroula Tsolakidou235510½0011½1166 Leon Luke Mendonca25510½½011½0104.5 +Triveni Continental KingsBoardPlayerRatingResults12345678910Score1 Alireza Firouzja2749½½0½½½00½142 Wei Yi272600½1½½½½0½43 Aravindh Chithambaram260410011½½00154 Zhu Jiner24700½00½0½½1½3.55 Alexandra Kosteniuk24210111½0½11½6.56 Pranav V2594101½10½0105
References
External links