Chess Super League

Last updated
Chess Super League
Game Chess
Founded2021
Owner(s) Samay Raina, ChessBase India, Nodwin Gaming
No. of teams6
Venue(s) Chess.com (online)

Chess Super League is an online chess tournament organized by Samay Raina, ChessBase India, Nodwin Gaming. Players in the tournament, consist of some of the Top International Grandmasters, Indian Grandmasters, International Masters and Indian Junior Players, which are grouped into 6 teams. The first iteration of the tournament kicked off on 11 October 2021 on chess.com, with a prize fund of 40 lakh (US$48,000). The entire event was streamed on Samay Raina's YouTube Channel.

Contents

Format

The games will be played with a time control of 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment. The first five days will see a league stage with different pools, from which the top four teams will qualify for the playoffs. [1]

The teams that finish first and second will play Qualifier 1, and the teams that finish 3 and 4 will play the Eliminator 1. Eliminator 2 consists of the loser of Qualifier 1 against the winner of Eliminator 1. The winner of Eliminator 2 goes to the finals to face off with the winner of Qualifier 1.

Teams (Season 1)

The players are six top grandmasters (male and female), six top players from India (male and female), and six top Indian juniors (boys and girls). [2] One player from each of these 6 brackets are clubbed into a team, leading to a total of 6 teams that will be spearheaded by franchise owners who will support and represent their squad throughout the league. [3] [4]

Season 1 Teams [5]
Pivotal Pawns
Owner Zakir Khan
Board 1 Ding Liren
Board 2 Abhijeet Gupta
Board 3 Zhansaya Abdumalik
Board 4 Bhakti Kulkarni
Board 5 Arjun Kalyan
Board 6 Savitha Shri B
The Kingslayers
Owner Tanmay Bhat
Board 1 Anish Giri
Board 2 S. P. Sethuraman
Board 3 Nana Dzagnidze
Board 4 Soumya Swaminathan
Board 5 Gukesh D
Board 6Arpita Mukherjee
Ruthless Rooks
OwnerMortal (S8UL Esports)
Board 1 Teimour Radjabov
Board 2 Karthikeyan Murali
Board 3 Anna Muzychuk
Board 4 Harika Dronavalli
Board 5Harshit Raja
Board 6Saina Salonika
Krazy Knights
Owner Biswa Kalyan Rath
Board 1 Hikaru Nakamura
Board 2 Krishnan Sasikiran
Board 3 Mariya Muzychuk
Board 4 Mary Ann Gomes
Board 5 Aryan Chopra
Board 6Mrudul Dehankar
Quintessential Queens
Owner Suhani Shah & Saina Nehwal
Board 1 Sergey Karjakin
Board 2 Koneru Humpy
Board 3 Hou Yifan
Board 4 Tania Sachdev
Board 5 P. Iniyan
Board 6Priyanka K
Brutal Bishops
Owner Raftaar
Board 1 Wang Hao
Board 2 Vidit Gujrathi
Board 3 Alexandra Kosteniuk
Board 4 Eesha Karavade
Board 5 Raunak Sadhwani
Board 6Tarini Goyal

Results (Season 1)

The first season was won by Zakir Khan's Pivotal Pawns at an Armageddon clash against Tanmay Bhat's Kingslayers on 17 October 2021. The finals saw a two round event with round 1 being won by The Kingslayers and Round 2 being won by Pivotal Pawns, to force a tie break between Zhansaya Abdumalik and Nana Dzagnidze which was won by the former.

Controversies

The first season saw massive controversies being sparked.

In one of the matches, a draw was offered by Vidit Gujrathi, before move 40, which was, according to rule-book, illegal, and thus, the arbitrators awarded the win to his opponent, which sparked rage from Vidit's end for not receiving any warning.

In another instance, Hikaru Nakamura, a player in the tournament, used his phone during the game, which was deemed by the arbitrators as a use of external aid, and thus, deemed illegal, with a win being awarded to his opponent. Hikaru Nakamura, in another instance, was playing Chess.com's Titled Tuesday and Chess Super League's matches simultaneously, which was, according to the viewers, unethical for his team, and his opponent. He and his team, would later lose the matchup, which might have been a crucial turning point.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viswanathan Anand</span> Indian chess grandmaster (born 1969)

Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand is an Indian chess grandmaster, a former five-time World Chess Champion and a record two-time Chess World Cup Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and he has the eighth-highest peak FIDE rating of all time. In 2022, he was elected the deputy president of FIDE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hikaru Nakamura</span> American chess grandmaster and streamer (born 1987)

Christopher Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess grandmaster, streamer, YouTuber, five-time U.S. Chess Champion, and the reigning World Fischer Random Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 15, the youngest American at the time to do so. With a peak rating of 2816, Nakamura is the tenth-highest-rated player in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levon Aronian</span> Armenian chess grandmaster (born 1982)

Levon Grigori Aronian is an Armenian-American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at age 17. He is a former world rapid and blitz champion and has held the No. 2 position in the March 2014 FIDE world chess rankings with a rating of 2830, becoming the fourth highest-rated player in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Howell (chess player)</span> English chess grandmaster (born 1990)

David Wei Liang Howell is an English chess grandmaster and commentator. A three-time British champion, he holds the record for being the second youngest British person to achieve the title of Grandmaster, earned at the age of 16.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabiano Caruana</span> Italian-American chess grandmaster (born 1992)

Fabiano Luigi Caruana is an Italian and American chess grandmaster who is the reigning three-time United States Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2844, Caruana is the third-highest-rated player in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lê Quang Liêm</span> Vietnamese chess grandmaster (born 1991)

Lê Quang Liêm is a Vietnamese chess grandmaster, the top-ranked of his country. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2006. Liêm won the Asian Chess Championship in 2019 and was the World Blitz Chess Champion in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Chess Classic</span> Chess festival held in London

The London Chess Classic is a chess festival held at the Olympia Conference Centre, West Kensington, London. The flagship event is a strong invitational tournament between some of the world's top grandmasters. A number of subsidiary events cover a wide range of chess activities, including tournaments suitable for norm and title seekers, junior events, amateur competitions, simultaneous exhibitions, coaching, and lectures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniil Dubov</span> Russian chess grandmaster (born 1996)

Daniil Dmitrievich Dubov is a Russian chess grandmaster. He achieved his final norm for the Grandmaster title at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 14 days in 2011. Dubov won the 2018 World Rapid Chess Championship held in Saint Petersburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vidit Gujrathi</span> Indian chess grandmaster (born 1994)

Vidit Santosh Gujrathi is an Indian chess grandmaster. He attained the title of grandmaster in January 2013, becoming the 30th player from India to do so. He is the fourth Indian player to have crossed the Elo rating threshold of 2700.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nihal Sarin</span> Indian chess grandmaster (born 2004)

Nihal Sarin is an Indian chess grandmaster and chess prodigy. In 2018, he passed the Elo rating of 2600 at 14 years old, which at the time made him the third youngest player in history to do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Rensch</span> American chess player (born 1985)

Daniel Michael "Danny" Rensch is an American chess International Master, event organizer, lecturer and commentator. He holds the Arizona state record for youngest national master, at the age of 14. He is the president of American Chess Events LLC and Chief Chess Officer of Chess.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open event at the 42nd Chess Olympiad</span>

The open event at the 42nd Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), was held from 2–13 September 2016 in Baku, Azerbaijan. It had to be contested by a record number of 180 teams representing 175 nations, however 10 of these did not arrive so the actual participation was 170 teams. Eritrea, Kosovo, and South Sudan all made their debut at the Chess Olympiads. A total of 894 players participated in the open event. The venue of the event was the Baku Crystal Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Chess960 Championship</span> Chess variant tournament

The World Chess960 Championship is a match or tournament held to determine a world champion in Chess960, a popular chess variant in which the positions of pieces on the players' home ranks are randomized with certain constraints. Prior to 2019 FIDE did not recognize a Chess960 world champion or sponsor regular tournaments in the format, but the Chess Classic at Mainz and other non-FIDE affiliated organizations have hosted high-profile Chess960 tournaments and matches. Time controls for Chess960 are non-standardized, and usually conform to the wishes of the tournament sponsor or organizer. As a result, Chess960 championships have been held with irregular time controls ranging from rapid (Mainz) to blitz and bullet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alireza Firouzja</span> Iranian-French chess grandmaster (born 2003)

Alireza Firouzja is an Iranian and French chess grandmaster. Firouzja is the youngest player to have surpassed a FIDE rating of 2800, beating the previous record set by Magnus Carlsen by more than five months.

The open event at the 43rd Chess Olympiad was held from 24 September to 5 October 2018. It was contested by a record number of 185 teams, representing 180 nations. Georgia, as host nation, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD) each provided one team. A total of 920 players participated in the open event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samay Raina</span> Indian stand-up comedian

Samay Raina is an Indian stand-up comedian, printing engineer, YouTuber, and chess enthusiast. He was the co-winner of the second season of the stand-up comedy contest Comicstaan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began streaming chess games along with multiple comedians and chess masters. He has raised substantial amounts of money for various causes through his YouTube channel, including help for waste pickers, and relief for West Bengal and Assam flood victims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2021</span> Chess tournament in Riga, Latvia

The FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2021 was a chess tournament that formed part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship 2022. It was an 11-round Swiss-system tournament, with 108 players competing, running from 25 October to 8 November 2021 in Riga, Latvia, in parallel with the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2021. The tournaments were held while Latvia was in a COVID-19 lockdown, which led to a number of players withdrawing before the tournament began.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2022</span> 2022 world championship of a variation of chess

The FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2022 (WFRCC) was the second official world championship in Fischer Random Chess. The competition followed a similar format to the first championship in 2019, with qualifying stages open to all interested participants taking place online on chess.com and Lichess, and four qualified players joined four invited players in the over-the-board final, which took place at the Berjaya Reykjavik Natura Hotel in Reykjavík, Iceland from 25 to 30 October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candidates Tournament 2024</span> World Chess Championship qualifying event

The 2024 Candidates Tournament was an eight-player chess tournament, held to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2024. The tournament took place at The Great Hall in Toronto, Canada, from April 3–22, 2024. The event was held alongside the Women's Candidates Tournament. The event was won by Gukesh D, which made him the youngest ever winner of a Candidates Tournament, and the youngest ever World Chess Championship challenger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2023</span> Chess tournament in the Isle of Man

The FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2023 was a chess tournament that formed part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship 2024. It was an 11-round Swiss-system tournament with 114 players competing from 25 October to 5 November 2023 in the Isle of Man. The winner and runner-up of the tournament earned the right to play in the Candidates Tournament 2024.

References

  1. "Chess Super League: All you need to know – Dates, Squads, Team Owners, Live Streaming and Lot More". SportsTiger. 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  2. Sampat, Amit (October 4, 2021). "Mrudul, Raunak to play six-team, 36-master Chess Super League". The Times of India. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  3. "The Chess Super League is here!". Chess News. 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  4. Doggers, Peter. "Chess Super League To Start October 11 On Chess.com". Chess.com. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  5. "ChessBase India". www.chessbase.in. Retrieved 2021-10-10.