London [UK], October 7 : The Triveni Continental Kings and upGrad Mumba Masters opened the second half of the Global Chess League on day five of the event.
Triveni, the reigning champions from season one, entered the match with three wins out of five, starting the day in second place.
Meanwhile, the Mumba Masters, season one's top contenders, were in a tough spot, managing only one win and four losses, leaving them just one position above last place.
This second phase of the tournament marks the beginning of the rematch stage, as all teams have already faced each other once. In their first encounter, Triveni, playing with the White pieces defeated Mumba 12-3, with decisive victories from Alireza Firouzja, Wei Yi, and Valentina Gunina. However, this time Mumba had the advantage of making the first move.
Mumba's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was looking to avenge his yesterday's loss to Firouzja. In a sharp, tactical game, Vachier-Lagrave made several blunders, allowing Firouzja to seal the match with a crushing attacking combination. The game would have ended in checkmate had Vachier-Lagrave not resigned. This marked Firouzja's fifth consecutive victory, leaving him undefeated after six rounds.
Superstars Vidit Gujrathi and Wei Yi followed the same opening line as on the top board. Unlike the first game, however, Mumba came out on top after a critical mistake by Wei Yi late in the game. Alexandra Kosteniuk then extended Triveni's lead by defeating Humpy Koneru, but Harika Dronavalli struck back against Gunina, keeping Mumba in contention.
With Triveni leading 9-7, the outcome hinged on the youngsters' board. Triveni's Javokhir Sindarov had two winning positions but missed both, ending in desperate time trouble. Mumba's Raunak Sadhwani wasn't aware that his team needed a win - he could have played on but opted to repeat the moves, giving a draw to Triveni which sealed their victory. The final score of the match was 10-8 for Triveni.
"This is one of the best performances I've ever had, but there are still a few rounds left," said Firouzja after the game, adding that his team was "a bit lucky to win the match."
Two more matches followed: League leaders PBG Alaskan Knights took on Magnus Carlsen's Alpine Sg Pipers. and Ganges Grandmasters faced American Gambits.