Ganges Grandmasters at the Global Chess League 2026: Squad, Owners and History

Who they are

The Ganges Grandmasters are one of the six franchise teams of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League. The franchise is owned by Insurekot Sports, the company that also owns the Puneri Paltan team in Pro Kabaddi. It is one of two teams, with Triveni Continental Kings, that have kept the same name since the first season in 2023.

Viswanathan Anand was the team's Icon in 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2026 he plays for PBG Alaskan Knights, and Ian Nepomniachtchi is the Ganges Icon. The Grandmasters have not reached a final yet: they finished third in 2023 and third in the 2025 round robin, then lost the third-place playoff.

B. Adhiban coaches the 2026 squad.

The 2026 squad

Ian Nepomniachtchi is the Icon of the 2026 squad. Levon Aronian and Leinier Dominguez play the two Superstar men's boards, Polina Shuvalova and Stavroula Tsolakidou play the two Superstar women's boards, and Leon Luke Mendonca is the Prodigy. B. Adhiban is the coach.

Shuvalova and Tsolakidou both played for the Grandmasters in 2025 and were retained before the 2026 draft. Nepomniachtchi was the Icon of Balan Alaskan Knights in 2023, Aronian was the Icon of the 2023 champions Triveni Continental Kings, Dominguez played for PBG Alaskan Knights in 2025 and Mendonca was in the 2025 title-winning Alpine SG Pipers squad.

2026 season in Bengaluru

Ganges Grandmasters are fifth in the 2026 standings after 4 matches, with 6 match points and 28 game points. Results last checked on 7 September 2026 at 8:44 PM IST.

1. 1.Triveni Continental Kings: Ganges Grandmasters 10, Triveni Continental Kings 9
2. 2.Alpine APL Pipers: Ganges Grandmasters 6, Alpine APL Pipers 11
3. 3.FYERS American Gambits: Ganges Grandmasters 9, FYERS American Gambits 7
4. 4.CheQ Mumba Masters: Ganges Grandmasters 3, CheQ Mumba Masters 12
5. 5.PBG Alaskan Knights: starts Tuesday 8 September, 15:30 IST
6. 6.Triveni Continental Kings: starts Wednesday 9 September, 17:00 IST
7. 7.Alpine APL Pipers: starts Thursday 10 September, 15:30 IST
8. 8.FYERS American Gambits: starts Thursday 10 September, 20:00 IST
9. 9.CheQ Mumba Masters: starts Friday 11 September, 20:00 IST
10. 10.PBG Alaskan Knights: starts Saturday 12 September, 18:30 IST

Full table and fixtures: GCL 2026 points table, schedule, GCL 2026 overview.

Board-by-board results

Every finished match of the team, board by board. A win with White is worth 3 game points, a win with Black 4, and a draw 1 for each team. Player names link to the player profiles.

Owners and identity

Owner

Insurekot Sports Pvt Ltd, also the owner of Puneri Paltan in Pro Kabaddi

Name

Ganges Grandmasters since 2023

Best finish

Third, 2023

Coach 2026

B. Adhiban

Season by season

2023, Dubai, as Ganges Grandmasters: Third in the round robin, 15 match points, 85 game points. Viswanathan Anand was the Icon, with Hou Yifan and Andrey Esipenko in the squad. The Grandmasters scored the most game points of any team in the season (85), shared the lead after day 4 and finished third on match points, level with SG Alpine Warriors.

Full 2023 results and standings

2024, London, as Ganges Grandmasters: Sixth in the round robin, 9 match points, 69 game points. Anand was again the Icon. The team won three of ten matches, level on match points with upGrad Mumba Masters, and finished sixth on game points.

Full 2024 results and standings

2025, Mumbai, as Ganges Grandmasters: Fourth; third in the round robin, 15 match points, 83 game points. Anand was the Icon, with Vincent Keymer, Javokhir Sindarov, Stavroula Tsolakidou, Polina Shuvalova and Raunak Sadhwani. The Grandmasters missed the final by one game point behind Alpine SG Pipers (83 to 84). In the third-place playoff against PBG Alaskan Knights they won the first rapid match 4-2, lost the second 2.5-3.5 and then lost both blitz matches, 2.5-3.5 and 2-4.

Full 2025 results and standings

Notable players

1. 1.Viswanathan Anand: Icon of the Grandmasters in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
2. 2.Hou Yifan: on the Ganges women's board in 2023, before winning the 2025 title with Alpine SG Pipers.
3. 3.Ian Nepomniachtchi: the 2026 Icon, previously Icon of Balan Alaskan Knights in 2023.
4. 4.Levon Aronian: Icon of the 2023 champions Triveni Continental Kings, now on a Superstar men's board for Ganges.
5. 5.Polina Shuvalova and Stavroula Tsolakidou: the two players kept from the 2025 squad.

More on the league: Global Chess League overview, winners and past seasons, Global Chess League 2026, all 2026 squads.

Frequently asked questions