Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Sep 7: Defending champions Alpine APL Pipers moved to the top of the standings despite losing one of their two matches on Monday, while CheQ Mumba Masters and PBG Alaskan Knights continued their revival on Day 3 of Season 4 of the Global Chess League (GCL) in Bengaluru.

The Pipers, playing with the white pieces for the first time in the competition, suffered a 7-9 defeat against PBG Alaskan Knights in their opening match before bouncing back with a commanding 15-3 victory over FYERS American Gambits.

The win took Alpine APL Pipers to the top of the leaderboard with three match victories and also gave them the biggest winning margin of Season 4 so far.

In the other match of the day, CheQ Mumba Masters registered a dominant 12-3 victory over Ganges Grandmasters to move into second place.

Vidit Gujrathi and Koneru Humpy were once again the stars for the Pipers, securing their third wins in four matches. Vidit produced a clinical performance against Daniil Dubov despite coming under time pressure, while Humpy defeated Sara Khadem in 29 moves.

On the prodigy board, Volodar Murzin outplayed Marc’Andrea Maurizzi to complete another victory for the team.

“In the morning game it was equal, but I got time pressure. There was pressure in the second game, but I am happy that I could win,” said Player of the Match Gujrathi after the victory.

Earlier, the opening clash featured a much-anticipated icon board showdown between world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and Indian legend Viswanathan Anand. Carlsen prevailed after Anand lost on time in a closely contested bishop-pawn endgame.

However, Carlsen's victory could not prevent the Pipers from suffering their first defeat of the competition as Vidit and Humpy, who had won their previous two games, both went down against the Alaskan Knights.

Player of the Match Nino Batsiashvili secured the Knights' first win by defeating Humpy in 44 moves, while Vidit lost on time after 15-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus applied sustained pressure with solid positional play.

In the second match, Ganges Grandmasters' decision to play with the black pieces after winning the toss backfired as Mumba Masters won three of the six games and drew the remaining three to secure their second victory in four matches.

Carrisa Yip opened the scoring for Mumba Masters with a win over Stavroula Tsolakidou, before Player of the Match M Pranesh held his nerve in a tense time scramble to force experienced Levon Aronian to resign after 65 moves.

Bardiya Daneshvar then added three more game points for Mumba Masters after Leon Luke Mendonca ran out of time on the prodigy board, taking the team to the top of the leaderboard temporarily before the FYERS American Gambits-Alpine APL Pipers clash.