Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri will join former world champions Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand and stars like Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi as “icon players” in the second season of the Global Chess League.
While Nakamura will play for the newest team American Gambits, Giri will make his debut in the second season with PBG Alaskan Knights.
“I followed the Global Chess League in its first season and was hooked to the format. It is an exciting opportunity not only for the top players, but also for fans as they get to pick a team with their favorite players to cheer on. I am excited to be a part of the American Gambits team, and I look forward to meeting my teammates in London,” Nakamura said.
Meanwhile, Carlsen, who featured in the first season of the Global Chess League, will continue to play for Alpine SG Pipers while five-time world champion Anand will once again represent Ganges Grandmasters.
“The first season in Dubai was a fantastic experience. Chess has been an individual sport, but the concept of a team setting introduced by the Global Chess League is very exciting and refreshing. I look forward to playing again with the Alpine SG Pipers,” Carlsen said.
After taking the Mumba Masters to the final last season, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave will again play for the Mumbai-based franchise. Two-time world chess championship contender Ian Nepomniachtchi will be the icon player for the Triveni Continental Kings.
While announcing the names of the icon players, Sameer Pathak, CEO of Global Chess League, revealed that the organisers would be announcing the rest of the players for each of the six teams in the coming weeks.
“With such renowned names at the helm of each team, we are confident that the exciting matches will offer millions of chess fans an incredible experience,” Pathak said.
The second season of the Global Chess League, a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and FIDE, will be held from October 3 to 12 at Friends House in London.
Anand had recently hailed the Global Chess League as an “Indian way” of organising sport.
“Indians are enjoying lots of sport now. But we like imposing our own business model on it. We want something new. That’s why last year we had the Global Chess League, which was this new Indian way of organising sport,” Anand said at the Express Adda last week.
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