Ashwin buys team in Global Chess League

Indian cricket team's ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is now co-owner of a franchise in the Global Chess League.

The cricketer has joined hands with Prachura PP and Venkat K Narayana to own American Gambits. The American Gambits will replace the Chingari Gulf Titans.

The Global Chess League will be held at London Friends House from October 3 to 12.

The American Gambits will compete for the title against five other teams -- Alpine SG Pipers owned by APL Apollo-led SG Sports, Ganges Grandmasters owned by Insurekot Sports, Mumba Masters owned by Ronnie Screwvala led Unilazer Ventures, PBG Alaskan Knights owned by Punit Balan Group, and the inaugural season champions Triveni Continental Kings owned by Triveni Engineering & Industries Limited.

“We’re thrilled to introduce the American Gambits to the chess world. With a blend of strategic brilliance and unwavering determination, our team aims to redefine the game. As the co-owner, I’m excited to witness their journey and contribute to their success,” Ashwin said in a release by Global Chess League.

In the second edition of Global Chess League, each team will play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each match being decided in a best-of-six board scoring system.

Each team will play ten matches across black and white pieces. The teams will play five matches, with all six players in each team initially playing with the white or black pieces against their opponents, followed by a reverse round in which the entire team will play five matches with the reversed colour pieces against the same opponent.

The winning team for every match will be determined by the points aggregated from wins and draws across all six games played in the match. The top two teams will advance to the final round.