Global Chess League 2024: Hikaru Nakamura-led American Gambits defeat Mumba Masters

With just two rounds remaining before the finalists of the second edition of the Global Chess League are determined, much is still undecided. However, what is clear is which teams won’t be advancing: Mumba Masters (last year’s runners-up), Ganges Grandmasters (third place in season one), and American Gambits.

The first match of the day, between upGrad Mumba Masters and American Gambits, was more about pride than results. With no pressure on the outcome, Mumba—playing as White—started strong, with their players securing favorable positions on four of the six boards.

On the icon board, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had a calm game against world number two Hikaru Nakamura but blundered heavily, losing a piece and eventually the game.

Despite this setback, the Mumba Masters had promising positions on other boards, but more trouble soon followed. On board two, Vidit had a significantly better position against Duda, but, as in previous matches, he got into time trouble and lost his advantage. In a blitz finish, Duda capitalized, winning on time and pushing his team to an 8-0 lead.

Peter Svidler drew with Wei Yi, scoring the first point for Mumba. Unfortunately for them, on both women’s boards, Humpy Koneru and Karika Dronavalli misplayed significantly better positions, leading to draws.

Mumba’s only win came on the prodigy board. Jonas Bjerre from American Gambits launched an all-out attack against Raunak Sadhwani, even sacrificing a piece. However, Bjerre miscalculated, and his pieces were trapped, leaving him completely lost.

The final score was 11-6 in favor of the American Gambits, bringing them closer to fourth place and a prize.