World Champion D Gukesh avenged his earlier loss to Alireza Firouzja in the reverse fixture. However, defending champions Triveni Continental Kings managed to secure a 10-9 victory over PBG Alaskan Knights, maintaining their position at the top of the leaderboard after match day six. Meanwhile, Mumba Masters put pressure on the leaders with an 11-6 win over Ganges Grandmasters in the Global Chess League (GCL) on Friday.
As the third edition of the GCL transitions into the second leg of the group stage, the Triveni Continental Kings had a chance to extend their lead over the Mumba Masters with two matches on the day. The champions initially faced a setback against Alpine SG Pipers after their icon player Alireza Firouzja lost to Fabiano Caruana. This put additional pressure on them to win against the Alaskan Knights, especially since Mumba Masters had briefly taken the lead after their victory over Ganges Grandmasters.
The Continental Kings forged ahead with a six-point advantage as Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Sara Khadem, and Wei Yi triumphed over Arjun Erigaisi. However, Kateryna Lagno scored four points for the Knights by winning against Zhu Jiner, bringing the team back into contention.
Gukesh, who had previously lost to Alireza in the tournament, played a robust game with Black and capitalized on his time advantage to hand the 22-year-old his second loss of the day in a rook-pawn endgame. Despite Gukesh’s victory, it was not enough for the Knights to secure their third consecutive win. Vidit Gujarathi finally found his winning momentum by defeating Leinier Dominguez in 39 moves, ensuring his team remained on top with 15 match points.
Vidit, named Player of the Match, expressed his relief, saying, “It’s a relief. It feels like you are climbing a mountain and you get an oxygen cylinder. Today, I was very upset after the first game and I am really happy that my win counted for the team.”
Earlier, GM Wesley So, Player of the Match Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Koneru Humpy all emerged victorious, helping Mumba Masters overcome Ganges Grandmasters. On the icon board, Viswanathan Anand applied pressure on Maxime Vachier-Lagrave but could not convert with the black pieces.
In the day’s other match, PBG Alaskan Knights edged past Fyers American Gambits with a score of 9-7, aided by Arjun Erigaisi’s victory over Vladislav Artemiev and Sara Khadem’s win against Teodora Injac.