Three-time women’s world champion Hou Yifan won both her games with black pieces, propelling Alpine SG Pipers to two victories on the penultimate day of the league stage and boosting them to second place in the Global Chess League (GCL) at the Royal Opera House.
Defending champions Triveni Continental Kings secured their spot in the finals for the third consecutive time, achieving a decisive 14-5 win over Ganges Grandmasters, reaching a total of 21 match points with seven wins out of nine matches. Meanwhile, Alpine SG Pipers triumphed over upGrad Mumba Masters and Fyers American Gambits with identical 8-7 scorelines, amassing 15 match points in the tournament, a joint initiative by Tech Mahindra and FIDE.
Unfortunately, Mumba Masters faced a significant blow to their final hopes by losing both matches on Sunday. The home favorites, who were outmaneuvered 16-1 by American Gambits on Saturday, needed to defeat PBG Alaskan Knights in their final match of the day to regain the second spot, having 12 points and two matches left. However, they fell short, losing 8-10 despite Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s victory over world champion D. Gukesh on the icon board.
Player of the Match Leinier Dominguez bested Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on the third board, while Sara Khadem managed to upset D. Harika, forcing her to resign after 65 moves.
With the second spot in the finals still open, Mumba Masters must secure a win against Continental Kings and rely on PBG Alaskan Knights to halt Alpine SG Pipers’ winning streak. Ganges Grandmasters also have an outside chance of qualifying, but they would need a substantial win against American Gambits and hope that other contenders falter.
As Sunday’s matches began, Pipers were in fifth position, needing both victories to stay in the finals race. Hou Yifan rose to the occasion, first defeating Mumba Masters’ Koneru Humpy, then handing the tournament’s first loss to Bibisara Assaubayeva of American Gambits, earning Players of the Match accolades in both contests.
In her match against Bibisara, the Chinese GM spent nearly six minutes before rapidly transitioning to a pawn-king endgame, which ultimately benefited her team. Reflecting on her strategic approach, Yifan stated, “I felt like it was a very critical moment when the game goes to a critical endgame. That’s why I thought I would take time and think it through. I had nine minutes, and that was enough to calculate.”
In both matches, while Alpine SG Pipers lost on the prodigy board, Yifan’s victories with the black pieces proved essential, as a win with black earns a team four game points compared to three for a win with white. All other boards in these matches ended in draws.
In a pivotal match between Alpine SG Pipers encounters, defending champions Triveni Continental Kings hindered Ganges Grandmasters’ chances of breaching the top two by overpowering them 14-5, thereby sealing their final spot.
On the icon board, Player of the Match Alireza Firouzja, after enduring two losses on Saturday, triumphed over Viswanathan Anand in just 48 moves, employing a brilliant queen sacrifice with black pieces. Continental Kings’ women’s stars, Zhu Jiner and Alexandra Kosteniuk, also scored wins with black pieces, solidifying the outcome. The sole victory for Ganges Grandmasters came from 2025 World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov, who defeated Vidit Gujarathi in 53 moves in a rook-knight ending.