Ravichandran Ashwin buys team in Global Chess League

Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has become a co-owner of American Gambits, a team that will play in the second edition of the Global Chess League.

Ashwin’s team is co-owned by business leaders Prachura PP and Venkat K Narayana. The American Gambits will replace the Chingari Gulf Titans in the six-team league. Alpine SG Pipers, PBG Alaskan Knights, Ganges Grandmasters, Triveni Continental Kings and Mumba Masters are the other five teams in the league.

The Global Chess League is a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The second edition of the league will be played in London from October 3 to October 12.

Triveni Continental Kings won the first edition of the league by beating Mumba Masters in a sudden death match.

Each team will play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format. The winner of each match will be decided with a best-of-six score. The players will compete in a team format, consisting of six players each. Each team will have two top women chess players and a prodigy.

The 10 double round-robin matches will be played across both white and black pieces. The franchises will play five matches, with all six players in each team playing with white or black pieces against their opponents, followed by a reverse round in which the team will play the next five matches with the reversed colour pieces against the same opponent.

The winning team for every match will be determined by the points aggregated from wins and draws across all six games played in the match. The top two sides will advance to the final round.

The second season of the Global Chess League is expected to be broadcast live across the world on TV and on OTT.