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The acquisition of Indian Grandmasters Vaishali Rameshbabu and Nihal Sarin headlined the player draft ahead of the second season of the Global Chess League 2024, scheduled to take place in London from October 3 to 12. Vaishali was roped in by Ganges Grandmasters in the Superstar Women 1 section while the 20-year-old Sarin went to Alaskan Knights in the Prodigy category, during the draft held here on Sunday. Vaishali will join the legendary Viswanathan Anand in the Ganges line-up, while Sarin will give company to the likes of Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in Knights.
“For someone my age, coming up the ranks in this sport, I am super thrilled to be part of the Global Chess League Season 2. I am looking forward to learn from the stalwarts playing in this season and I am happy to be part of Alaskan Knights this season,” said Sarin after the draft.
Meanwhile, Grandmasters Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli were retained by Mumba Masters.
The teams have already named their icon players and they are: Magnus Carlsen (Alpine SG Pipers), Anand (Ganges Grandmasters), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Mumba Masters), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Triveni Continental Kings), and debutants Hikaru Nakamura (American Gambits) and Anish Giri (Alaskan Knights).
Upon the successful completion of the player draft for this second season, Sameer Pathak, CEO, Global Chess League, said, “We had an action-packed day at the players draft. All six franchises have put together strong and equal teams, and with the second season taking place in London, it is poised to be bigger and more exciting. Best wishes to all the players and franchises, we are eagerly anticipating a cracking extravaganza in October.
