Global Chess League Season 3 Draft Set for Mumbai, Features 36 Elite Players
Six franchises to pick from 36 top players, including Gukesh, Anand, Nakamura, Caruana, Firouzja, and Hou Yifan.
Mumbai, Sept 24: The Global Chess League (GCL) will host its Season 3 player draft in Mumbai on September 26, where six franchises will build their squads from a 36-player pool featuring some of the world’s best Grandmasters and rising stars from 17 nations.
Heading the Icon Players category are reigning World Champion D. Gukesh, five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Other notable names include Anish Giri, R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, four-time women’s world champion Hou Yifan, and India’s own Koneru Humpy.
The U-21 Prodigy category highlights the sport’s future stars, such as Volodar Murzin, the 2024 FIDE World Rapid Champion, and Marc’Andria Maurizzi, the 2023 World Junior Champion.
Franchises will draft players across four rounds, divided into Icon, Men’s, Women’s, and U-21 Prodigy categories. Each team will feature six players: one Icon, two men, two women, and one U-21 Prodigy, making GCL the world’s only gender-inclusive chess league under a global sports federation.
“GCL is more than a tournament. It’s a celebration of intelligence, teamwork, and creativity,” said Viswanathan Anand, praising the league’s innovative format and global appeal.
The six competing franchises for Season 3 are Triveni Continental Kings (defending champions), PBG Alaskan Knights, UpGrad Mumba Masters, Ganges Grandmasters, Alpine SG Pipers, and American Gambits.
After successful editions in Dubai and London, the Global Chess League returns to India the birthplace of chess offering fans an electrifying blend of tradition and innovation.
