A week ago, the Global Chess League 2023 (GCL 2023) announced that five-time world champion and current world Rapid Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen would be joining the inaugural edition of the tournament as one of the icon players. The Grandmaster in the GCL press release said, “It is an exciting prospect for me to be a part of. This will be something new. Something that has not been done this way in over-the-board chess. I am looking forward to exploring this format in future.”
Carlsen, who is widely regarded as the greatest chess player of the current generation, will be in action during the inaugural edition of the league to be held from June 21 – July 2, 2023, at the Dubai Chess & Culture Club in association with the Dubai Sports Council.
Ding Liren, Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand & Hou Yifan join the Global Chess League
The Global Chess League is a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and International Chess Federation (FIDE).
The league will see each of the six franchises play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each match being decided in a best-of-six board scoring system played simultaneously. The top two teams will qualify for the final on July 2, 2023, and be crowned the World Champion Franchise Team.
Carlsen on Indian influence on Chess
Carlsen who is known for his experimental views on chess believes that team format matches are something that he really prefers. The Grandmaster expressed his views about the mixed team format by saying, “Personally I very much enjoy team events and the team spirit within the group. So, it is something I always look forward to. I am looking forward to meeting the other players in the team, and I look forward to competing with and against the exciting young generation of Indian players. One of the really good things about this tournament is men and women can compete against each other at the same stage.”
Carlsen also rated the Indian talent that is coming through very highly by saying, “I think India is doing a lot of right things so far, and it is a matter of time before it is clearly the leading chess nation in the world.”
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