How Pranesh denied Nihal Sarin & Gambits a spot in GCL final
4 min readBengaluruUpdated: Sep 12, 2026 11:09 PM IST
Nihal Sarin is nicknamed the “speed demon” for his prowess in shorter time controls. But Pranesh M is slowly staking his claim as the new king of the jungle. The 20-year-old single-handedly turned the fate of CheQ Mumba Masters’ final round-robin match against FYERS American Gambits, flagging Nihal in a thriller to deny Srinath Narayan’s side a spot in the 2026 Global Chess League final.
There was a moment when Gambits had everything they needed to book a summit clash against Ganges Grandmasters. Despite trailing 2.0-8.0, their top boards, Nihal and Javokhir Sindarov, were completely winning. Those victories with the black pieces would have given Gambits four points each and flipped the result to 10.0-8.0, enough to leapfrog Alpine APL Pipers and reach the final.
Nihal Sarin in action. (GCL)
But standing in their way was Pranesh, who wasn’t even supposed to be at the GCL. Having come in as a last-minute replacement for Vladimir Fedoseev, he defeated Nihal after the latter lost on time in a nerve-wracking game. Soon after, Sindarov won following Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s resignation, but the damage was done. Gambits were out of the final race, and Masters had secured a top-four finish and a place in the third-place match.
As a result, both sides will meet again in the third-place clash on Sunday, before Ganges Grandmasters and Pipers face off in the final.
Masters were already out of the final race, and their only role was to spoil Gambits’ party. It was Iranian Daneshvar Bardiya who started the spoiling on the Prodigy board, taking down Marc’Andria Maurizzi with the white pieces to give Masters a 3.0-0.0 lead. Harika Dronavalli and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov denied easy points, forcing draws against Bibisara Assaubayeva and Daniil Dubov respectively. It was only when Carissa Yip defeated Sara Khadem that the games for Sindarov and Nihal became must-win clashes.
Nihal Sarin in action. (Express photo by Mayank Chaudhary)
Gambits found themselves fighting for a final spot only after defending champions Alpine APL Pipers were handed a shock loss by Triveni Continental Kings.
The star for the Kings was Alireza Firouzja, who handed Magnus Carlsen his first loss of the tournament. Winless ahead of the clash, Firouzja ended his GCL campaign with the most memorable result of his season, beating Carlsen with the black pieces. Aravindh Chithambaram also won his game, defeating Vidit Gujrathi, as the Kings, who had reached the final in every previous season, ended their campaign with an 11.0-6.0 win over the Pipers.
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The stunning loss for both Carlsen and Pipers left their side in a precarious position, keeping the race for the final wide open.
In a day of major upsets, Viswanathan Anand-led PBG Alaskan Knights also ended their campaign with a win against Ganges. Fifteen-year-old Yagız Kaan Erdogmus flagged Leinier Dominguez, and Abhimanyu Mishra defeated Leon Luke Mendonça to offset Ganges’ Stavroula Tsolakidou’s win with the black pieces.
Alaskan Knights finished last with 12 match points, four wins, and 80 game points. Triveni Continental Kings are fifth with equal match points but one extra game point. Mumba Masters are fourth with 15 match points and 85 game points, while American Gambits are third with 15 match points and 86 game points. Pipers are second, and Ganges, who were clearly not the strongest team on paper, topped the group with 18 match points and 95 game points.
(The writer is in Bengaluru at the invitation of Global Chess League)
