DUBAI, Jun 30: World number one Magnus Carlsen lost to Levon Aronian following a huge blunder as Triveni Continental Kings beat SG Alpine Warriors on a day of upsets in the Global Chess League here on Friday.
On the ninth day of the league, Chingari Gulf Titans also stunned upGrad Mumba Masters 12-3. Playing with black pieces, Triveni Continental Kings defeated SG Alpine Warriors 10-8, knocking them off the course to the finals. Carlsen lost to Aronian in their second match of the league. After opening with the unusual move 1.B3, Carlsen gained the initiative but made a blunder from a relatively stable position, leading directly to the defeat. Carlsen laughed it off but was clearly unhappy.
Warriors’ Gukesh D managed to take the initiative against Yu Yangyi. The Chinese Grandmaster found himself in a lot of trouble trying to fend off checkmate. Despite avoiding a mate, his position was lost and he resigned. Triveni Continental Kings quickly hit back with a victory on board three where Wei Yi outplayed Arjun Erigaisi in a queen and rook endgame. In a duel between Praggnanandhaa R and Jonas Bjerre, the talented player from India managed to win what was a completely lost position.
After misplaying in the middlegame, Praggnanandhaa defended the best he could and in a queen and rook endgame managed to take over the advantage before emerging winner. With seven wins and two draws, Praggnanandhaa continued his amazing performance in the league.
Elisabeth Paehtz and Sara Khadem made a relatively quick draw in 36 moves, as did Irina Krush and Kateryna Lagno. In the other match, upGrad Mumba Masters were the slight favourites. The team led by Maxime-Vachier Lagrave was always around the top but slipped in the final days. Chingari Gulf Titans were on the bottom of the board and struggling. Still, they had the advantage of white pieces.
The first good sign for Chingari occurred early on as Vidit Gujrathi made a blunder, giving a dominant position to Dubov who soon converted this into a victory, after just 23 moves. Before that game ended, two heavyweights, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Alexander Grischuk, drew their game. By this point, the Titans were leading 4-1.
Then, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Polina Shuvalova defeated their opponents, bringing another six points to the Titans. With the score at 10-1, the Titans had the match in their bag. Despite best efforts by team Mumba, the remaining two games ended in draws. (PTI)
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