PBG Alaskan Knights at the Global Chess League 2026: Squad, Owners and History

Who they are

The PBG Alaskan Knights are one of the six franchise teams of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League. The franchise is owned by the Punit Balan Group, and the letters PBG in the team name stand for the owner. In the first season in Dubai in 2023 the team played as the Balan Alaskan Knights.

The Knights have the best round-robin record of any team in a single season: eight wins from ten matches and 114 game points in London in 2024, where they lost the final to Triveni Continental Kings. In 2025 in Mumbai they started with four losses, recovered to finish fourth in the round robin and won the third-place playoff against Ganges Grandmasters.

Viswanathan Anand is the 2026 Icon, after three seasons as Icon of Ganges Grandmasters. Swayams Mishra coaches the team.

The 2026 squad

Viswanathan Anand is the Icon of the 2026 squad. Arjun Erigaisi and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus play the two Superstar men's boards, Kateryna Lagno and Nino Batsiashvili play the two Superstar women's boards, and Abhimanyu Mishra is the Prodigy. Swayams Mishra is the coach.

Erigaisi and Lagno both played for the Knights in 2025; Lagno won both blitz games against Polina Shuvalova in the third-place playoff. Batsiashvili was part of the 2025 title-winning Alpine SG Pipers squad. Anand was the Ganges Grandmasters Icon in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

2026 season in Bengaluru

PBG Alaskan Knights are fourth in the 2026 standings after 4 matches, with 6 match points and 30 game points. Results last checked on 7 September 2026 at 8:44 PM IST.

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

Punit Balan Group

Names

Balan Alaskan Knights (2023), PBG Alaskan Knights (since 2024)

Best finish

Runners-up, 2024 (first in the round robin)

Coach 2026

Swayams Mishra

Season by season

2023, Dubai, as Balan Alaskan Knights: Sixth in the round robin, 12 match points, 84 game points. Ian Nepomniachtchi was the Icon, with Tan Zhongyi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Raunak Sadhwani in the squad. The Knights scored 84 game points, the second-highest total of the season, but won only four matches and finished last. Tan Zhongyi was named Queen of the series, the award for the best female player of the season.

Full 2023 results and standings

2024, London, as PBG Alaskan Knights: Runners-up; first in the round robin, 24 match points, 114 game points. Anish Giri was the Icon, with Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Tan Zhongyi, Alina Kashlinskaya and Nihal Sarin. The Knights won eight of ten matches, beat Triveni Continental Kings 15-3 and 12-8 in the round robin and qualified for the final with a round to spare. In the final they lost 7-9 and 7-13 to Triveni. Nihal Sarin was the Season 2 MVP.

Full 2024 results and standings

2025, Mumbai, as PBG Alaskan Knights: Third; fourth in the round robin, 15 match points, 73 game points. D Gukesh was the Icon, with Arjun Erigaisi, Leinier Dominguez, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, Kateryna Lagno and Daniel Dardha. The Knights lost their first four matches, then won five of the last six, including 11-6 against Alpine SG Pipers in the last round. In the third-place playoff they beat Ganges Grandmasters after a 1-1 split of the rapid matches, winning the blitz matches 3.5-2.5 and 4-2.

Full 2025 results and standings

Notable players

1. 1.Viswanathan Anand: the 2026 Icon, after three seasons as Icon of Ganges Grandmasters.
2. 2.Arjun Erigaisi: Superstar men's board in 2025 and 2026.
3. 3.Kateryna Lagno: Queen of the match in the 2023 final for Triveni Continental Kings, with the Knights since 2025.
4. 4.Nihal Sarin: Prodigy of the 2024 team that topped the round robin, and Season 2 MVP.
5. 5.Tan Zhongyi: Queen of the series in 2023 as a Balan Alaskan Knight, and on the 2024 team that reached the final.

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

Frequently asked questions