NEW DELHI: SG Pipers have booked their place in the final of the Global Chess League (GCL), where they will face defending champions and table toppers Continental Kings.As Monday saw a dramatic end to the league stage, Pipers lost their last league match 6-11 to Alaskan Knights, but still qualified for the final because they finished with a better game-point tally than Ganges Grandmasters.
Both teams ended with 15 match points, but Pipers edged ahead with 84 game points compared to the Grandmasters’ 83.The final league match was tense for Pipers. They needed either a win or at least six game points to stay ahead in the standings. Alaskan Knights, on the other hand, needed a win to secure a place in the third-place playoff and came out strong.World champion D Gukesh capitalised on a mistake by Fabiano Caruana, while Arjun Erigaisi beat Anish Giri with the black pieces. These results gave the Knights eight crucial points and kept the pressure on Pipers.For SG Pipers, Hou Yifan once again delivered a key result.The three-time women’s world champion won her third match in a row, defeating Kateryna Lagno in just 20 moves. Despite this, the match went down to the wire.Draws by R Praggnanandhaa and Nino Batsiashvili meant that everything depended on Leon Luke Mendonca’s game on the prodigy board. Mendonca held his nerve and secured a draw against Daniel Darda after 42 moves. That draw proved vital and helped Pipers reach the final.Earlier in the day, Ganges Grandmasters kept their hopes alive with a big 12-3 win over American Gambits. Viswanathan Anand drew with Hikaru Nakamura, while Vincent Keymer, Raunak Sadhwani, and Stavroula Tsolakidou registered important wins.However, their effort was not enough, and they will now play Alaskan Knights in the third-place match.In the other league match, Continental Kings defeated Mumba Masters 10-9. Despite wins from Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Bardiya Daneshvar, losses on the top boards cost Mumba Masters the match.
