Dubai is Going to be the Venue for the Inaugural Edition of the Global Chess League

The Global Chess League (GCL) in a venture with FIDE and Tech Mahindra has announced Dubai as the grand venue for the inaugural edition of the chess tournament.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: 2023-05-04 09:21:22

Global Chess League (GCL), a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and FIDE has finalized Dubai as the venue today at an inaugural edition in the presence of key dignitaries such as CP Gurnani, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Tech Mahindra, Dr. Aman Puri, Consul General of India, Dubai, Parag Shah, EVP & Head, Mahindra Accelo and Member, Global Chess League Board, Viswanathan Anand, five-time world chess champion, and Deputy President, FIDE, and Jagdish Mitra, Chairperson, Global Chess League Board, in the Gulf city.

In association with the GCL’s host partner. Dubai Sports Council, Dubai will hold the first franchise-based chess league. His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary General, Dubai Sports Council, stated that hosting the Global Chess League is a monumental occasion for us when discussing hosting the first-ever edition. The league will enable current fans to relate to chess more than ever thanks to the vision of FIDE and Tech Mahindra for it. This will also introduce chess to a new audience.

The first-of-its-kind Global Chess League will include a team vs. team format. It is going to get together the top chess players around the world, symbolizing important nations and offering chess enthusiasts throughout the world a singular experience. Champions from all around the world will be warmly welcomed in Dubai, the world's expanding sports capital. The Global Chess League will promote a brand-new chess format, develop a sport's ecology, and give chess champions from around the world a stage on which to demonstrate the game's potential.

The first Global Chess League will consist of a 6-player team. There will be a total of 6 teams. Each team will have one icon player and two female players and will run from 21 June through 2 July 2023. Each of the six teams will play 10 matches in a round-robin style as they compete. Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand, who also serves as the Deputy President of FIDE, claimed that Dubai has become a popular location for athletic events. A huge success, the World Chess Championship took place in Dubai in 2021 during the Dubai Expo.

In a similar vein, he thinks that the Global Chess League will usher in a new era of fan interaction. Its distinctive team concept will aid in the expansion and improvement of chess. With established and up-and-coming players sharing a team, the league hopes to revolutionize the sport. Men, women, and young players would all equally contribute to the success of their squad. He anticipates a terrific opening season.

Arkady Dvorkovic, the FIDE President said that they are excited about the partnership with Dubai Sports Council. And also looking forward to being the host of the GCL’s inaugural edition in Dubai. The region is known to host several major sporting and world-class events. It also accommodated the successful FIDE World Championship Match 2021. And he is grateful for this experience and thinks that GCL will be a memorable event this time around.

Each match will contain six boards and the games will be played simultaneously. The qualifying top two teams will play on 2 July 2023 the final and be crowned with the title - World Champion Franchise Team. The Chairperson of the Global Chess League Board, Jagdish Mitra said that in the past ten years, Dubai has become a significant international sports and business destination.

Its considerable contribution to enhancing the UAE's digital economy and the country's standing as a major center of knowledge is noteworthy. This makes Dubai the perfect place to hold the first-ever edition of a competition like the Global Chess League. He thinks that the collaboration with Dubai Sports Council, the government of Dubai's official sports regulating organization, is a significant step towards further solidifying links with the nation.

They are excited to launch a new era for the sport and stage a successful league in Dubai. As FIDE and Tech Mahindra will explore creative ways for the game's promotion with the help of interactive technology-enabled platforms. They will leverage 5G and other next-generation technologies such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, etc. for the sport of chess.