A dominant upGrad Mumba Masters delivered a high-quality performance in front of the 'home' crowd, defeating the Viswanathan Anand-led Ganges Grandmasters 17-4 on the opening day of the Global Chess League, in Mumbai on Sunday.
Triveni Continental Kings began their title defence in style, overcoming Alpine SG Pipers 9-7 win at the Royal Opera House.
Playing with black pieces, Mumba Masters' Maxime Vachier-Lagrave defeated five-time world champion Anand to set the tone for the contest.
Mumba Masters then seized the momentum on the prodigy board where Bardiya Daneshvar capitalised on a major error from Raunak Sadhwani to claim a decisive win.
Wesley So of Mumba Masters and Vincent Keymer played out a tense battle that ended in a perpetual-check draw, but by then the 'home' team had already stretched their lead through wins on the top boards.
Reigning two-time Women's World Rapid champion Koneru Humpy came under sustained attack from Polina Shuvalova, who controlled the centre with authority to register Ganges Grandmasters' only win of the tie.
However, any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished as Mumba Masters' Dronavalli Harika and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov converted their advantage into wins.
GCL debutant Wesley So was named the Man of the Match.
Triveni Continental Kings and Alpine SG Pipers kicked off GCL Season 3 with the spotlight firmly on the 'Icon' clash between Alireza Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana.
Alpine SG Pipers' American GM Caruana opted for an aggressive Sicilian Dragon with black, chasing the extra point on offer.
The risk backfired, as Triveni's Firouzja steadily seized control, sacrificing material to build a dominant position before converting with authority in the endgame.
Earlier, the Pipers struck the first blow when Nino Batsiashvili defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk with black, pressing home a central advantage and time edge to secure a crucial four-point win.
Triveni responded through Wei Yi, who outplayed Anish Giri with white in a sharp Vienna Game to swing the tie in their favour.
The much-anticipated all-Indian battle between Vidit Gujrathi and R Praggnanandhaa ended in a hard-fought draw, as did the women's high-profile clash between Zhu Jiner and World No.1 (Rapid) Hou Yifan, and the prodigy encounter between Marc'Andria Maurizzi and Leon Mendonca.
"I feel happy that we won. Our opponents (Alpine SG Pipers) were one of the strongest teams; they have so many great players. To get this win was important," said Firouzja.
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