Chess icons Carlsen, Vishy Anand, Hou Yifan, and world champ Ding Liren join Global Chess League

New Delhi: The Global Chess League (GCL) on Tuesday announced a steller line-up including current World Champion Ding Liren of China and his two predecessors and five-time Champions, Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Viswanathan Anand of India, along with four-time Women’s World champion Hou Yifan for the inaugural edition to be held in Dubai next month.

The first season of the Global Chess League — a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and the world chess federation, FIDE, to be played in team format — will be held at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club from June 21 to July 2, 2023, in association with the Dubai Sports Council.

The competition will be held in a one-of-a-kind joint team format at GCL, with each team consisting of six players a minimum of two women chess players per team.

To add to the thrilling level of competition, four more World Champions besides reigning Classical World Champion Ding Liren will be competing in the Global Chess League. They are 2021 World Rapid Chess Champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov, 2008 Blitz Chess World Champion Leinier Dominguez, three-time Blitz Chess World Champion Alexander Grischuk, and 2018 World Rapid Chess Champion Daniil Dubov.

It will also feature top female superstars, including Grandmaster Hou Yifan, a four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and the second-highest-rated female player of all time.

The other female players that have confirmed their participation include Grandmaster (GM) Koneru Humpy, GM Harika Dronavalli, GM Kateryna Lagno, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, GM Tan Zhongyi, GM Nana Dzagnidze, GM Bella Khotenashvili, GM Nino Batsiashvili, GM Irina Krush besides International Master (IM) Polina Shuvalova, and 2018 European Women’s Champion in rapid chess, Elisabeth Paehtz.

The league will also feature several other superstars of chess, including GMs Vidit Gujrathi, Gukesh D, Arjun Erigaisi, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov, Yi Wei, Yu Yangyi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Richard Rapport, Kirill Shevchenko, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Salem Salah.

In addition to the renowned champions, the GCL will provide a stage for emerging talent from diverse nations, offering them an opportunity to compete against the very best in the world.

Six Under-21 players will also compete in the GCL, with the trio of Indian GMs Praggnanandhaa R., Raunak Sadhwani, and Nihal Sarin, leading the pack of prodigies. GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre, GM Javokhir Sindarov, chess prodigy and GM Andrey Esipenko complete the list of players in the category.

The league will also set the standards for technological innovations in the sport of chess as Tech Mahindra and FIDE will explore innovative ways to promote the game through interactive technology-enabled platforms by leveraging next-generation technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, among others.

–IANS