The PBG Alaskan Knights became the first team to secure a spot in Saturday’s final of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League after defeating the Triveni Continental Kings 12-8 in a dramatic Day 8.
In the final match of the day in London, PBG needed a win to fully guarantee their place in the finals and they delivered just that, with Anish Giri defeating Alireza Firouzja and Nodirbek Abdusattorov outplaying Wei Yi.
Treveni’s Teimour Radjabov won against Sahkhriyar Mamadyarov to give his side some hope but losses on the women’s board sealed their fate.
Triveni now faces a direct duel with Sg Pipers for the second finals spot.
Earlier in the day, American Gambits, led by world number two Hikaru Nakamura, defeated Mumba Masters 10-6 in the opening match of Day 8.
Though both teams were out of the running for the finals entering into Day 8, the Gambits are now favourites to win the League’s fourth place prize ahead of the event’s conclusion.
The next match of the tournament saw Alpine Sg Pipers clash with Ganges Grandmasters, with the Pipers in need of a win to have any hope of reaching the finals.
The Pipers’ Richard Rapport defeated Parham Maghsoodloo and world number one Magnus Carlsen added another point with what he described as a “crazy game” against Vishy Anand.
Off the board saw some light drama when Kateryna Lagno asked Carlsen and Anand to be quiet during their post-game chat, with the star Norwegian miming ‘zipping’ his mouth before Lagno finished her game to extend the Pipers’ lead to 10-1.
Teammate Hou Yifan then followed suit by defeating Vaishali to push the score to 13-1 before the Ganges’ Volodar Murzin won the final prodigy game to give his side some small consolation.
The Pipers would end the day in second place with 18 match points and in pole position to reach the finals ahead of Friday’s clash with Triveni Continental Kings.
Featured Image Credit: Michał Walusza
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