3 min readMumbaiJun 29, 2026 08:51 PM IST When the fourth edition of the Global Chess League is held this September, teams might be able to jiggle around their players. In three seasons so far, players have been restricted to playing on fixed boards, meaning players picked for the ‘icon board’ can only take on the icon player of the other team. But in a bid to offer more strategic options to teams, the GCL could allow teams to decide their board orders. This means that in a battle between Alpine APL Pipers and FYERS American Gambits, for example, one team might opt to play Javokhir Sindarov on a different board than against Carlsen. League commissioner Gourav Rakshit said that currently the idea was in an exploratory phase, but was likely to be formalised in the coming weeks so that all the six teams have enough time to work on how they can use the new rule to their advantage in the tournament that will be held in Bengaluru from September 3 to 13. “This …