The Tech Mahindra Global Chess League is the world’s first and largest official franchise chess league. FIDE and Tech Mahindra are celebrating Season 3, which features 13 of the 15 top-rated players in the world.
Season 1 was played in Dubai in 2023. London was the site for Season 2 in 2024. For Season 3, players and fans are at Mumbai’s Royal Opera House from December 14–23, 2025.
Defending Champions
The Triveni Continental Kings won Seasons 1 and 2 of the Global Chess League. On Day 1 of Season 3, the team defeated the Alpine SG Pipers. Each team has six boards: An “Icon” board, Superstar Men 1, Superstar Men 2, Superstar Women 1, Superstar Women 2, and Prodigy. The player on the Prodigy board must be under age 21.
In a twist from a typical team match, where colors alternate, every team member gets the same color. For Day 1, the Triveni Continental Kings had White on all six boards. Since the preliminary rounds are played as a double round robin, the Alpine SG Pipers will get White the next time these two teams play. The time control is 20 minutes for each player with an increment of 2 seconds starting at move 41.
Playing on the Icon board for the Triveni Continental Kings is GM Alireza Firouzja. Commentator IM Sagar Shah called him the “Man of the Match” for his win over GM Fabiano Caruana.
By move 28, when Firouzja played Rdg1, he was winning. So, he turned away from his board to look at his teammates’ games, which drew smiles from Shah and fellow commentator GM Irina Krush.
Firouzja was also named “Player of the Match,” a title he felt he should share with GM Wei Yi, who won on the Superstar Men 1 board against GM Anish Giri of the Alpine SG Pipers. That game is at this link.
After playing each other again in Mumbai, Wei Yi and Anish Giri will compete at the 2026 Candidates, an eight-player tournament which will determine the next World Chess Championship Challenger.
Mumbai to NYC for GM Krush
Global Chess League 2025 commentator GM Irina Krush is scheduled to be back in New York City on Tuesday, December 16, at 6:30 p.m. From 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., she and National Master Bruce Pandolfini will be honored, with a reception at the Marshall Chess Club, for their induction into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.
Mumbai is on IST (Indian Standard Time). When the Triveni Continental Kings began their Day 1 match on December 14 against the Alpine SG Pipers, it was 5 p.m. in Mumbai and 6:30 a.m. in New York City, which is on Eastern Standard Time. A nonstop flight from Mumbai (BOM) to New York City (JFK) takes about 15 hours 45 minutes. Krush was on the Global Chess League 2025 broadcast until at least 6:40 p.m. Mumbai time on December 14. Maybe she flew to NYC after completing her portion of the broadcast?
Global Chess League 2025: How to Watch
Chess.com provides coverage here. The official Global Chess League 2025 website is https://globalchessleague.com/. The Tech Mahindra Global Chess League YouTube is at this link.
