Anand Mahindra with Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand

Magnus Returns, Vishy Switches Colors!

After skipping Season 3, Magnus Carlsen returns as an Icon player for the defending champions alongside Anish Giri, Vidit Gujrathi, and 2024 World Rapid Champion Volodar Murzin. Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh makes her GCL debut, teaming up on the Women Superstar boards alongside India's chess queen, Koneru Humpy.

The GOAT: Magnus Carlsen enters The Hotel Lalit

Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand leaves Ganges Grandmasters to lead a youth-powered Alaskan Knights lineup featuring Arjun Erigaisi, 15-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, and Abhimanyu Mishra.

Vishy will be leading the PBG Alaskan Knights

The Opening Ceremony

Classic Bengaluru rain hit the venue as players arrived. The players, including Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Anish Giri, Vidit Gujrathi, and Divya Deshmukh, were seen navigating the grounds with umbrellas in hand, which set a relaxed, candid mood across the red carpet and entry walks. The ceremony was hosted at the 19th-century Tudor-style Bangalore Palace.

What a wonderful place for the opening ceremony: Bengaluru Palace

The umbrellas are out

Well-known Content creator Shraddha, popularly known as AiyyoShraddha, met with World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen at the opening ceremony

There was a special segment at the Opening Ceremony of the GCL 2026 on the future of Chess. It was hosted by Sagar and Tania, and the experts who spoke on this subject had 10 world titles between them - Magnus and Vishy!

Man With A Plan: Anand Mahindra

While many would jump for short-term results, what sets him apart is his long-term vision and love for the sport of chess! This year, GCL managed to get more sponsors, more revenue, and it seems the league is closing in on the break-even mark! A huge kudos to Anand for giving something very beautiful to the game of chess.

The man who has made the Global Chess League possible: Anand Mahindra.

Indian Billionaire and Chairman of the Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra, along with the GOAT Magnus Carlsen and Legend Vishy Anand, at the GCL 2026

The player of the tournament will take home a Jawa 42 Bobber Bike at the GCL 2026.

Full house at Bengaluru Palace

Vidit with his better half, Dr. Nidhi

All Icons with Anand Mahindra
The grand opening ceremony of Global Chess League Season 4. Check out the World's best players in a light mood with umbrellas in the rain.

Schedule

Schedule: Day 1

Format & Scoring at a Glance

  • 6 Franchises, Double Round-Robin: Top teams battle through league play to determine the finalists.

  • Synchronized 6-Board Matches: 1 Icon, 2 Superstar Men, 2 Superstar Women, and 1 Prodigy per squad.

  • Unified Colors: A coin toss decides which squad plays all-White or all-Black boards.

  • Dynamic Points: Win with Black = 4 pts, Win with White = 3 pts, Draw = 1 pt.

  • Time Control: Rapid 20 minutes per player, with a 2-second increment added only from Move 41.

Photo Gallery: Here

World's Youngest to cross 2700 ELO; Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus with his dad

World's Youngest Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra with his dad

AiyyoShraddha with Sagar and

Then meeting her childhood idol Koneru Humpy - all unplanned and impromptu!

Aravindh Chithambaram and Pranav V are making their debut at GCL

Sindarov and Bibisara will play for the same team at GCL - the Fyers American Gambits.

Video Gallery: Here

Check out behind-the-scenes footage of the entire photoshoot in this video.
We interviewed Divya before the event - she speaks about playing alongside Magnus Carlsen, Vidit, and Anish, the Arjuna Award, and the upcoming Olympiad.
The ChessBase India Team visited the CheQ office in Bengaluru. In this Vlog, we show you what all happened in the day!

Venue

The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru
First look at the venue of the Global Chess League 2026 in Bengaluru

Pick Your Fav Team

We did the team analysis after the auctions. Check that out for more clarity!

CheQ Mumba Masters

Lineup

Ganges Grandmasters

Lineup

Alpine APL Pipers

Lineup

PBG Alaskan Knights

Lineup

Triveni Continental Kings

Lineup

FYERS American Gambits

Lineup

Important Links

Buy Tickets

Global Chess League: Official Site, Schedule, Results and Standings

Global Chess League: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube

Download the Official GCL App: Google Play, App Store