GCL: Chess finds its theatre

Bengaluru: Leon Mendonca was dead lost. Across the board, Abhimanyu Mishra, the world’s youngest grandmaster, was comfortably winning. His victory would be enough to fetch his team, PBG Alaskan Knights, the match. In the dugout, Mishra’s teammates, led by five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, watched the giant screen.

With one second left, Mishra captured White’s rook but dropped it on the board and placed the promoted queen on the wrong square (e1 instead of f1) earning two seconds of added time at the end of the move. Mendonca stopped the clock, called for the arbiter and objected to the move. The clock was reset, the added time taken away, and Mishra was left with one second to redo the move correctly.

It demanded Flash-like dexterity. Mishra couldn’t manage it and lost.

The packed live audience, following the commentary on their headphones, gasped. Mendonca had snatched a win for himself and his team, Ganges Grandmasters, while Mishra, annoyed with himself, stomped off the stage.

The Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL), in its fourth season this year, is giving the audience its fill of drama and star sightings. There’s world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and Anand striding in and out of the playing hall at the Bengaluru five-star hotel venue to fans screaming their names, seeking selfies and autographs, and even yelling, “What was f6?” at Carlsen – a weird move he employed in the opening against World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov.

“I like to come to India every second year or so because I need a year off to remind myself how crowded the tournaments are,” Carlsen joked.

GCL’s franchise-based format lends itself to unpredictability. Six teams face each other twice across six boards, with 20 minutes per player and a two-second increment added from move 41. A win with Black is worth more (four points) than a win with White, which earns three.

“It’s a really good format,” Carlsen, who is turning out for the Alpine APL Pipers, said. “The lack of increments is very good. I would have preferred there not to be the two seconds after 40 moves as well. I think it’s there on the request of us players who are incompetent and lazy at times. Matches are always going to be decisive unless there are six draws.”

The teams are a mix of top players and young names, both men and women. On Friday, Carlsen chose to give his Player of the Match award, for defeating Sindarov, to teammate Vidit Gujrathi, who beat Daniil Dubov of the Fyers American Gambits.

“I do not deserve the award as much as the man who won us the match,” Carlsen said, handing over his trophy.

In a fiercely individual sport, watching players trade their business casual for colourful team jerseys and huddle in the dugout is a unique sight.

“You’re going through these moments together with the top guys – the joys, disappointments – and you get to see how they handle tough days,” Mishra, who’s on Anand’s team, said. “Just watching Vishy is such an inspiration. We have team dinners and play bullet and blitz. Yaagiz (Erdogmus) and I sometimes play bullet for hours. He trash-talks, and it gets crazy competitive and so much fun. I’ve realised it’s a terrible idea to look at Arjun’s (Erigaisi) board during my games for cues on how safe the team should be playing. No matter what, he’s always cooking up chaos.”