Vaishali R will make her debut in the Global Chess League when the second season starts next month, after she missed the first season.
Picked by Ganges Grandmasters in the draft before the Global Chess League’s second season, Vaishali will be in the same team as chess legend Viswanathan Anand.
Speaking about playing for Ganges Grandmasters alongside Viswanathan Anand — who was India’s first grandmaster and has played a part in the development of most of India’s top prodigies including Vaishali — she said, “This will be a very special event for me to play alongside Vishy sir in the same team. It is a wonderful opportunity for me. My brother Pragg is on Magnus Carlen’s team, which is great as well. Of course, we won’t compete against each other, but our teams are different.”
Vaishali’s brother Praggnanandhaa will turn out for the Alpine SG Pipers, the same team he represented last season.
“It is a very interesting and unique format, which we never had in chess events before. To have many strong players in one team, we get to discuss a lot about the game and share ideas. It will definitely help players improve individually,” Vaishali added while discussing the unique team format.
The Global Chess League’s second edition will take place in London from 3rd to 12th October at Friends House, and Vaishali has already planned her off-the-board adventures in the city.
“The last time I visited London was five years ago. Back then, I missed going to the London Eye ride, so it’s the best opportunity for me to visit this time,” Vaishali revealed.
The stellar line-up of icon players for the second season of Global Chess League includes Magnus Carlsen (Alpine SG Pipers), Viswanathan Anand (Ganges Grandmasters), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Mumba Masters) Ian Nepomniachtchi (Triveni Continental Kings), and debutants Hikaru Nakamura (American Gambits) and Anish Giri (PBG Alaskan Knights).
Apart from retaining Tan Zhongyi, PBG Alaskan Knights picked Alina Kashlinskaya. Meanwhile, Vaishali R and Nurgyul Salimova were drafted by Ganges Grandmasters, while Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina were acquired by Triveni Continental Kings. American Gambits filled in their quota of Superstar Women with Bibisara Assaubayeva and Elisabeth Paehtz, while Grandmasters Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli were retained by Mumba Masters.
