Vaishali R will make her debut in the second edition of the Global Chess League, starting on October 3 at Friends House, in London.
The Indian grandmaster has been picked up by the Ganges Grandmasters, where she will find a teammate in the legendary Viswanathan Anand. She is looking to pick Anand’s brains and is excited about the unique format of the event.
“This will be a very special event for me to play alongside Vishy sir in the same team. It is a wonderful opportunity for me. My brother Pragg is on Magnus Carlen’s team, which is great as well. Of course, we won’t compete against each other, but our teams are different.”
“It is a very interesting and unique format, which we never had in chess events before. To have many strong players in one team, we get to discuss a lot about the game and share ideas. It will definitely help players improve individually,” Vaishali added.
Her brother Praggnanandhaa will continue to ply his trade in the same team — Alpine SG Pipers — continuing from last season.
The 11-day-long event in the British capital will allow Vaishali to find her own time and she has already decided to explore the city.
“The last time I visited London was five years ago. Back then, I missed going to the London Eye ride, so it’s the best opportunity for me to visit this time,” Vaishali revealed.
The iconic line-up in the event includes, Magnus Carlsen (Alpine SG Pipers), Viswanathan Anand (Ganges Grandmasters), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Mumba Masters) Ian Nepomniachtchi (Triveni Continental Kings), and debutants like Hikaru Nakamura (American Gambits) and Anish Giri (PBG Alaskan Knights).
Vaishali R and Nurgyul Salimova were drafted by Ganges Grandmasters while Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina were roped in by Triveni Continental Kings.
Meanwhile, the American Gambits filled their Superstar Women quota with Bibisara Assaubayeva and Elisabeth Paehtz, Mumba Masters roped in grandmasters Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli while the PBG Alaskan Knights picked up Alina Kashlinskaya after retaining Tan Zhongyi.
