Alireza Firouzja’s Triveni Continental Kings successfully defended the Global Chess League title in the second season by defeating Anish Giri’s PBG Alaskan Knights 2-0 in the final.
PBG Alaskan Knights dominated the Global Chess League Season 2 by winning eight of their 10 matches in the group stage. They even defeated Triveni Continental Kings twice (15-3 and 12-8).
On the other hand, Triveni’s path to the final was bumpy. They lost four matches, and in the final round, they edged out Alpine SG Pipers in a death match to get a spot in the final.
But the defending champions put up a determined show in the final with two nerve-wracking matches to stun the Anish Giri-led Knights. The Kings won 9-7 with white pieces and followed it up with a 13-7 victory with black pieces.
The Knights won the toss and opted to play the first match as Black. The ceremonial first move was done by Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group in the game between Anish Giri and Alireza Firouzja.
The icon of the Kings, Firouzja won against Anish, who was the icon of the Knights. Teimour Radjabov and Shakhiyar Mamedyarozv drew their match; so did Javokhir Sindarov and Nihal Sarin. Valentina Gunina and Alina Kashlinskaya had a roller coaster game that ended in a draw. With one win and three draws, the Kings sealed victory in the first match when Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Zhongyi Tan. The only win for Triveni came when Nordibek Abdusattorov defeated Wei Yi.
In the second match, Valentina scored the first win against Kashlinskaya. Mamedyarov defeated Radjabov. Anish Giri won the must-win game against Firouzja. Nordibek lost to Wei Yi in the return game. The last game was won by Kosteniuk against Zhongyi Tan.
