With world number 1 Magnus Carlsen returning to the Pipers\u2019 fold after a hiatus of a year, all eyes were on how the defending champions would start their campaign against the formidable Mumba Masters.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The holders were put under early pressure as Mumba Masters\u2019 M Pranesh defeated Anish Giri on the Superstar Men\u2019s board. But Player of the Match Vidit Gujrathi brought his team back into the contest as his strong positional play was enough to beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The experienced Koneru Humpy then defeated Carissa Yip to put the Pipers in a strong position. However, D Harika then inflicted a heart-breaking loss on women\u2019s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh to make it two wins each for both teams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Carlsen was solid on the icon board against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and that was enough to ensure a winning start for his team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier, two-time champions Triveni Continental Kings' strategy to play with black pieces against Ganges Grandmasters after winning the toss made it the day\u2019s most exciting encounter, with five of the six games ending in a result.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The experienced Levon Aronian gave the Ganges Grandmasters a solid start by beating Wei Yi in just 29 moves. Player of the match Polina Shuvalova and Stavroula Tsolakidou then extended their team's lead by winning the two Superstar Women\u2019s boards. Shuvalova defeated Zhu Jiner in 70 moves while Tsolakidou beat former Women\u2019s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in 59 moves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
However, Leinier Dominguez Perez lost to Aravindh Chithambaram on time as his clock ran out after 43 moves, with their position looking mostly even. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Continental Kings\u2019 V Pranav then forced Ganges Grandmasters\u2019 Leon Luke Mendonca to resign after 40 moves to close the gap to just one point, as a win with black pieces gives a team 4 game points while a victory with white counts for three game points.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the opening match of the day, Candidates 2026 champion GM Javokhir Sindarov showed that he is the man in form as he got the better of GM Viswanathan Anand on the icon board in 57 moves to give the FYERS American Gambits an early advantage over PBG Alaskan Knights.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
PBG Alaskan Knights\u2019 GM Arjun Erigaisi had his chances with black pieces, but the 23-year-old could find his way past GM Nihal Sarin\u2019s defence. With all the other Superstar Men and Women boards finishing in a draw, PBG Alaskan Knights needed Abhimanyu Mishra to carve out a win over Marc\u2019Andria Maurizzi on the prodigy board.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the opening match of the day, Candidates 2026 champion GM Javokhir Sindarov showed that he is the man in form as he got the better of GM Viswanathan Anand on the icon board in 57 moves to give the FYERS American Gambits an early advantage over PBG Alaskan Knights.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sindarov was also awarded the Player of the Match for his win and said he was happy with the start his team has got. \u201cI was also watching the other boards, and I felt even my game was heading to a draw. But I sacrificed a pawn in the endgame, and then I knew I could win.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n