Viswanathan Anand at the Global Chess League

FIDE title

Grandmaster

Federation

India

2026 team

PBG Alaskan Knights

2026 board

Icon (board one)

Seasons

2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

FIDE id

5000017

Anand was the Icon of the Ganges Grandmasters in the first three league seasons. For 2026 he switches franchises for the first time and leads the PBG Alaskan Knights as their Icon.

In the 2026 season Anand plays for the PBG Alaskan Knights on board one as the team's Icon. The season runs from 5 to 13 September 2026 in Bengaluru, India.

Global Chess League record

In 2023 the Ganges Grandmasters finished third in Dubai and Anand scored 6 points from 10 games. In 2024 in London the team finished last; Anand drew four games and lost six.

In 2025 in Mumbai the Ganges Grandmasters missed the final by one game point and finished fourth after losing the third-place match to the PBG Alaskan Knights on blitz tiebreaks. Anand scored 3.5 points from 10 games.

1. 1.2023: Ganges Grandmasters, Icon. Team result: third. Scored 6 points from 10 games.
2. 2.2024: Ganges Grandmasters, Icon. Team result: sixth. Four draws and six losses; the team finished last.
3. 3.2025: Ganges Grandmasters, Icon. Team result: fourth. Scored 3.5 points from 10 games.

Career highlights

1. 1.World champion five times: the 2000 knockout championship, the 2007 championship tournament in Mexico City and title matches against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, Veselin Topalov in 2010 and Boris Gelfand in 2012.
2. 2.World Rapid Champion in 2003 and 2017.
3. 3.India's first grandmaster, since 1988, and the player whose career started the growth of Indian chess.
4. 4.Deputy president of FIDE since 2022.
5. 5.Played every Global Chess League season since 2023, all of them as an Icon.
6. 6.On the September 2026 FIDE rating list, Anand is rated 2739 in classical chess, 2721 in rapid and 2706 in blitz.

2026 season

Viswanathan Anand plays the 2026 season with the PBG Alaskan Knights, which runs from 5 to 13 September 2026 in Bengaluru, India. Anand's squad mates are Arjun Erigaisi, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Kateryna Lagno, Nino Batsiashvili and Abhimanyu Mishra.

Each Global Chess League match is played on six boards of rapid chess, one board per squad member, and a win with Black earns the team more game points than a win with White. The format and scoring page explains the points. Matches are streamed free; the how-to-watch page lists the streams and the IST start times.

• —Matches played: 4
• —Match points: 6
• —Game points: 30
• —Position: 4 of 6

1. 1.Saturday 5 September, 15:30 IST: FYERS American Gambits 10–4 PBG Alaskan Knights
2. 2.Sunday 6 September, 17:00 IST: PBG Alaskan Knights 11–6 CheQ Mumba Masters
3. 3.Monday 7 September, 15:30 IST: PBG Alaskan Knights 9–7 Alpine APL Pipers
4. 4.Monday 7 September, 20:00 IST: Triveni Continental Kings 11–6 PBG Alaskan Knights

Results were last checked on 7 September 2026 at 8:44 PM IST.

The 2026 final is scheduled for Sunday 13 September 2026 in Bengaluru, India. The champion appears here after the final.

2026 games

Anand has 4 finished games in the 2026 season: 0 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses, 2 team points earned.

1. 1.Saturday 5 September, 15:30 IST: board 1, Black against Sindarov, Javokhir (FYERS American Gambits), loss.
2. 2.Sunday 6 September, 17:00 IST: board 1, White against Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (CheQ Mumba Masters), draw.
3. 3.Monday 7 September, 15:30 IST: board 1, White against Carlsen, Magnus (Alpine APL Pipers), loss.
4. 4.Monday 7 September, 20:00 IST: board 1, Black against Firouzja, Alireza (Triveni Continental Kings), draw.

Daily reports mentioning Anand

1. 1.Day 1: Gambits win twice to take the first lead

Frequently asked questions

More on the league: the Global Chess League 2026 hub, the schedule, the points table and the league overview with every season since 2023.