Global Chess League unveils six franchises

New Delhi: The Global Chess League (GCL) on Monday unveiled the six franchises that will participate in the inaugural edition of the tournament to be held in Dubai from June 21-July 2.

A joint venture between Tech Mahindra and the international chess federation (FIDE), the competing teams will play a minimum of 10 matches each in a double round-robin, rapid format.

The GCL will see men, women, and U21 players compete as a team.

The league will commence with a players' draft where franchise owners will select players for their respective teams.

The six franchise owners and their teams are U SPORTS (upGrad Mumba Masters), Insurekot Sports (Ganges Grandmasters), Punit Balan Group (Balan Alaskan Knights), Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd (Triveni Continental Kings), Chingari App (Chingari Gulf Titans), and APL Apollo-led SG Sports (SG Alpine Warriors).

Leading players in the world, including Viswanathan Anand, Ding Liren, Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hou Yifan and Kateryna Lagno among others, will come together in the league.

FIDE president, Arkady Dvorkovich, said he was looking forward to a successful inaugural edition.

"We we are heading towards its actualisation, we have found the right partners who believe in the vision. (We) look forward to making the league a big success," said Dvorkovich in a statement on Monday.

Jagdish Mitra, chairperson, GCL Board said, "the tournament will blends traditional chess with the new era" and will aim to "enhance fan experience through digitization, innovation, and technology."

The tournament will introduce a mixed-team format, wherein each of the six franchises will engage in a total of 10 matches played in a double round-robin style. The winner of each match will be determined through a best-of-six board scoring system, played simultaneously.

The top two teams emerging from these encounters will then proceed to the final, scheduled to take place on July 2, where the World Champion Franchise Team will be crowned.