'Global Chess League: Great idea to have six games with one colour'

DUBAI: Grandmaster Levon Aronian Global Chess League champion described as magical and historical Triveni Continental Kings’ come-from-behind triumph and said it was nice to see the entire team playing with the same colour in a match.

The Global Chess League ended a few days back on an exciting note in one of the most unexpected events with Triveni Continental Kings surging from behind to become champions of the inaugural edition.

From being almost out of the title contention, Triveni Continental Kings became the first team to qualify for the final of the inaugural season and eventually ended up winning the league in a thrilling sudden-death Blitz encounter thanks to the team’s youngest member Grandmaster (GM) Jonas Buhl Bjerre.

While GM Bjerre stole the show in the epic tie-break after losing his first two boards against GM Javokhir Sindarov of upGrad Mumba Masters, it was the Icon player of the team GM Levon Aronian who played a crucial role in steering the team to the final.

GM Aronian, a former World Rapid and Blitz Champion who joined the Triveni Continental Kings just a week before the league, proved their trump card.

In a conversation with the franchise’s media team, Aronian opened up about the format of the league, his experience and his top moments from the tournament.

“It´s been magical. Our comeback is something historical and we are all proud of it as a team. At some point, before the finals, our coach Loek Van Wely remembered the last NBA playoff series between Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. First Miami was leading 3 to 0 and then Celtics made a comeback to take it to 3-3, only to lose the 7th game without much fight. We told ourselves that even if we don´t manage to win the finals it was ok as long as we put up a big fight, and so we did,” Aronian said about the experience and the comeback by his team.

Aronian also stated that at one point in time, the team had lost hope and they were just thinking about going out all guns blazing.

“I think the moment after the match that we lost against Anand’s team we realised that we have maybe one percent chance to qualify. I told the folks that realistically we can’t qualify, even if we win all the matches, so now it´s all about saving face. We relaxed and somehow the lady luck started smiling at us,” he added.

Looking back at the tournament, Aronian also talked about how despite another pull-out from the team during the tournament, the International Master and Women’s GM Sara Khadem brought composure to the team and changed many things.

While praising Sara who took up the challenge instantly, he said, “Sara is very easy-going, confident and a strong player. It´s very difficult to replace an elite-level player like Nana Dzagnidze, and honestly, I did expect such a level of composure and determination from Sara. It felt almost like she was an integral part of our team immediately after she joined.”

While many can only dream of doing something like this in a single tournament, Triveni Continental Kings’ Icon Player not only defeated World No. 2 Ian Nepomniachtchi but also came out victorious against the World Rapid Chess Champion and current World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen.

Analyzing his games, he said, “Well, both games with Magnus and Ian were not particularly good; I was making mistakes, fighting, and then they made mistakes that were not typical for them. I am happier with my wins against Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, whom he faced during the all-important final encounter.”

Finally, Aronian spoke about the format of the league and how it can be the next stage for chess.

“I loved the format. At first, I thought that white has an unfair advantage, but now in hindsight, I am not so sure anymore! Great idea to have six games with one colour at the same time,” he concluded.