All posts tagged: global chess league india

Global Chess League returns to India for 4th season, to be hosted in Bengaluru | Chess News

Global Chess League returns to India for 4th season, to be hosted in Bengaluru | Chess News

2 min readJun 12, 2026 02:11 PM IST The fourth season of the Global Chess League (GCL) will be held in Bengaluru from September 3, the organisers said in a statement on Friday. It is the second consecutive time that the over-the-board rapid chess league will be held in India, having been hosted by Mumbai last year. The inaugural season had been held in Dubai in 2023 after which London hosted the second season in 2024. “The GCL, which is a joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE, has already changed the format of the game including franchise teams, mixed gender lineups, and rapid fire matches. Season 4 will once again feature the world’s leading players competing in a team-based format,” said the organisers in their statement. Gourav Rakshit, Commissioner of the Global Chess League, Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, said that bringing the league to Bengaluru felt like “a a defining moment, not just for the league, but for the evolution of the game itself.” “This is where the next chapter begins,” he said. …

GCL’s headphone gambit: 3rd edition of chess league to let fans sport headphones to hear live commentary while watching contest at the venue | Chess News

GCL’s headphone gambit: 3rd edition of chess league to let fans sport headphones to hear live commentary while watching contest at the venue | Chess News

Over the last couple of years, chess tournaments have tried their best to court casual fans and become more accessible to those who may not necessarily be able to distinguish a good move from a terrible one. Towards that endeavour, the third edition of the Global Chess League (GCL) will introduce a novel move for a FIDE-approved tournament: fans inside the playing hall will be allowed to wear headphones and listen to real-time commentary during games, something akin to the radio earwigs cricket fans at England stadiums can hear commentary on. The third edition of the GCL will be the first held in India. This season, the league will also debut concepts like team booths (where players will sit next to each other before their games start) and offer the chance for fans to play in an over-the-board ‘vote chess’ game against elite grandmasters in the arena. “Chess can be a pulsating event. But you may not exactly get that if you are watching the sport in a silent auditorium,” says GCL commissioner Gourav Rakshit. …