Global Chess League Season 3 Draft To Be Held In Mumbai; 36 Top Players In Pool

Global Chess League season 3 draft to be held in Mumbai; 36 top players in pool (Image Source: IANS)

FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion: The Global Chess League (GCL) will hold its player draft in Mumbai on September 26 ahead of its third season in India. Six franchises will compete to assemble strong rosters from a 36-player pool comprising top Grandmasters and emerging talents from 17 chess-playing nations.

Leading the Icon Boards are reigning World Champion D. Gukesh, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Other top players in the pool are Anish Giri, R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, four-time world champion Hou Yifan, and World Cup finalist Koneru Humpy, showcasing a roster of the sport's biggest stars.

The U-21 Prodigy category features Volodar Murzin, the 2024 FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion, and Marc’Andria Maurizzi, the 2023 World Junior champion, representing the next generation of talent.

Franchises will assemble their rosters across four draft rounds, with the player pool divided into Icon Players, Men’s, Women’s, and U-21 Prodigy categories. Marquee names will be the highlight of this year’s draft.

Five-time World Champion, Viswanathan Anand, said, "GCL is more than a tournament. It’s a celebration of intelligence, teamwork, and creativity. It combines tradition with innovation and creates a platform worthy of the game’s global stature. I’m proud to see such a league emerging from India onto the world stage."

Franchises will assemble their rosters across four draft rounds, with the player pool divided into Icon Players, Men’s, Women’s, and U-21 Prodigy categories. Marquee names will be the highlight of this year’s draft.

GCL has built a strong audience across popular editions in Dubai and London by combining classical heritage with fast-paced match formats. The third season is now arriving in India, the birthplace of chess, offering an improved, fan-focused experience.

Article Source: IANS