Ravichandran Ashwin invested in a chess team, American Gambits, which will compete in the Global Chess League’s second season.
Viswanathan Anand, a chess veteran, welcomed India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to the sport in style, as the cricketer became a co-owner of a chess franchise. Ashwin purchased shares in the American Gambits, a new team that will compete in the second round of the Global Chess League, a collaboration between Tech Mahindra and the International Chess Federation. Ashwin, a cricket icon, was greeted in style by Vishy Anand, who made a stunning social media post when Ashwin entered the world of chess.
“Congratulations @ashwinravi99 on your exciting new venture into the world of chess! As someone who has bowled out the best in cricket, I’m sure you’ll bring the same competitive spirit to the Global Chess League with the American Gambits. May your rooks and bishops be as unstoppable as your off-spinners!
Global Chess League CEO Sameer Pathak stated, “We are excited to welcome the teams for the second season of the Global Chess League. We are excited to offer chess lovers around the world an exciting season of competition as we have partnered with the right organizations to expand the league’s global reach.
“The teams made season one a huge success and we believe that their impact and popularity will continue to expand in the world of chess.” With two elite female chess players and a prodigy player on each side, each team of six players will participate in a novel joint team format.
The fact that this novel format will be broadcast on well-known OTT and broadcast platforms across the globe will only heighten fan enthusiasm and expectation.
Each squad will compete in ten double round-robin matches throughout the competition. A best-of-six board scoring system will be used to determine the winner of each match.
Ten games with both black and white pieces will be played by each squad. A reverse round will be played in which each team plays five matches with the reversed color pieces against the same opponent. Each team’s six players will play five matches with the white or black pieces against their opponents in the first round.The total number of points earned from victories and draws in the six games that make up the match will determine which team wins each time. There will be a final round where the top two teams go.