Zhavokhir Sindarov will play Carlsen and other stars in the Global Chess League.

**Zhavokhir Sindarov will participate in the Global Chess League, where he will compete against Carlsen and other world stars**

Uzbek grandmaster Zhavokhir Sindarov will compete in the fourth season of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL), one of the largest franchise chess leagues in the world. The competition, which will feature such outstanding chess players as Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Alireza Firouzja, and Ian Nepomniachtchi, will be held from September 3 to 13 in Bengaluru, India.

Sindarov's international performances, tournament preparation, and coaching are supported by the National Bank of Uzbekistan.

This season, Sindarov will represent the FYERS American Gambits team and, for the first time in his GCL career, will occupy a key position on the so-called "Icon Board," designated for franchise leaders. In the previous three seasons, the Uzbek player played for various teams: UpGrad Mumba Masters, Triveni Continental Kings, and Ganges Grandmasters.

For the 20-year-old chess player, the trip to Bengaluru will be another stop in a busy season leading up to the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand and the World Championship match against reigning champion Dommaraju Gukesh.

Notably, the two future opponents have taken completely different approaches to preparation: Gukesh withdrew from the Global Chess League and Grand Chess Tour, while Sindarov continues to actively participate in major tournaments.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Sindarov explained his choice by his lack of experience regularly playing against the world's elite. "I only became a top chess player this year. My rating was above 2700, but that's still not the same as being a top player. "Gukesh has been in the world's top ten for over three years, so he has much more experience playing against the strongest chess players," he said.

According to the grandmaster, this is why he tries to take advantage of almost every opportunity to play in a strong tournament. "I enjoy playing against top players. I want to feel more comfortable in high-level tournaments before the World Championship match. That's why I play so much," the Uzbek player emphasized.

In recent months, Sindarov has participated in tournaments in Goa, Mumbai, Doha, Wijk aan Zee, Cyprus, Warsaw, Bucharest, Hong Kong, Charlotte, Miami, and St. Louis. After Bengaluru, he will return to Uzbekistan, where the World Chess Olympiad will be held in Samarkand.

Sindarov expects to face a much stronger version of Gukesh in the World Championship match. "I've played against him a lot and I know he can play incredibly well. If he's at his best, like he was in 2024, anything can happen in the match. So I'm preparing for his best form."

About the Global Chess League

The Global Chess League is a joint project between the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Indian technology company Tech Mahindra. Organizers call it the first major official franchise chess league. Unlike traditional individual tournaments, it features six clubs, each of which forms a permanent team.

Each franchise consists of six chess players:

* One player on the Icon board

* Two players on the Superstar boards

* Two players on the Women boards

* One player on the Prodigy board

Thus, men and women play for the same team, and all six games of the team match are played simultaneously. Each franchise will play 10 matches in two round-robin matches—twice against each opponent. In the second match between the same teams, the colors are reversed. At the end of the round-robin stage, the top two teams advance to the final.

One of the main features of the GCL is its scoring system, which encourages riskier play with Black. A win with Black earns a team 4 game points, a win with White earns 3, and a draw earns 1 point for each side. The team with the most game points over the six boards receives 3 match points; if the teams are tied, they each receive 1 point.

According to ChessBase, in Season 4, games are allotted 20 minutes, with a two-second increment for each move starting at move 40. This time control, coupled with the unusual scoring system, often leads to situations where the outcome of an entire match can change in a matter of minutes on one board.

The total prize fund for the Global Chess League in 2026 is $1 million. Half of this amount—$500,000—is distributed based on the team's final placing: the champion receives $250,000, the runner-up $125,000, the third-place team $75,000, and the fourth-place team $50,000.

Another $450,000 is distributed among all teams proportionally to the number of game points they earned throughout the tournament. The league winner receives an additional $50,000. Thus, the prize money depends not only on the final placing but also on the results of each individual game.

Thanks to the GCL format, Sindarov has the opportunity to play each of the other franchise leaders twice. American Gambits matches against Magnus Carlsen's team are scheduled for September 7 and 11 at 6:00 PM Tashkent time, while those against Viswanathan Anand's team are scheduled for September 5 at 3:00 PM and September 8 at 7:30 PM. Matches against Alireza Firouzja's team will take place on September 5 and 9 at 7:30 PM.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Sindarov noted that the format forces players to consider not only their own position but also the overall situation of the match. "In team tournaments, you understand when to take risks and when to play more calmly. But the GCL is a completely different tournament. There are six boards, a different time control, and a completely different scoring system. If Black wins, the team gets four points; if White wins, three. It's a unique format."

At the same time, according to the Uzbek chess player, during the game itself, he tries not to be distracted by his partners' results. "I like being a team player. Of course, you need to help your partners, motivate them, and support them. But when the game begins, you need to focus only on your own game."

**FYERS American Gambits roster this season:**

* Zhavokhir Sindarov (Icon board)

* Yu Yangyi (Superstar board)

* Rameshbabu Pragnanandhaa (Superstar board)

* Anna Muzychuk (Women's board)

* Harika Dronavalli (Women's board)

* Raunak Sadhwani (Prodigy board)

In August, former Spanish national team and Barcelona player Gerard Piqué became one of the strategic shareholders of American Gambits. Former Indian national cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin is also a co-owner of the franchise.

Sindarov's move to the Icon board reflects his rapid rise over the past year. Last season, he played on the men's Superstar board for the Ganges Grandmasters and became the second-highest-scoring player in the entire league, behind Alireza Firouzja. Sindarov scored 24 game points, winning seven matches.

Now, the Uzbek player will be playing against the leaders of other teams. His potential opponents on board one include Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Viswanathan Anand, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Sindarov is particularly looking forward to a possible encounter with Carlsen.

The tournament is also significant for the Indian chess community—a contender for the world chess crown will play in India shortly before the title match.

The main star of the Alpine APL Pipers will be former world champion and longtime world ranking leader Magnus Carlsen, who is returning to the Global Chess League after missing the previous season. He will be joined by Anish Giri, Vidit Gujrathi, Humpy Koneru, Divya Deshmukh, and World Rapid Champion Volodar Murzin.

The Alpine Pipers enter the season as the defending champions: they defeated the Triveni Continental Kings in the 2025 final. However, the team's roster has changed significantly, with only Giri remaining from last year's team.

Triveni Continental Kings, who won the first two GCL seasons in 2023 and 2024, will be led by Alireza Firouzja. The team also includes Wei Yi, Aravind Chidambaram, Zhu Jin'er, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Pranav Venkatesh.

Ganges Grandmasters, where Sindarov played last year, will now feature two-time Candidates Tournament champion Ian Nepomniachtchi on board one. His partners will be Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez, Polina Shuvalova, Stavroula Tsolakidou, and Leon Mendonca.

Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand will lead the PBG Alaskan Knights. The lineup also includes Arjun Erigaysi, 15-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdoğmuş, Kateryna Lagno, Nino Batsiashvili, and Abhimanyu Mishra, a grandmaster who set a record in 2021 by achieving the title at the age of 12.

Finally, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave will once again lead the UpGrad Mumba Masters. Joining the French grandmaster will be Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Vladimir Fedoseev, Carissa Yip, Harika Dronavalli, and Bardiya Daneshvar.

A total of 36 chess players will compete in the fourth season, representing six franchises. This is the first time the tournament has been hosted by Bengaluru; the first GCL season was held in Dubai in 2023, the second in London, and the third in Mumbai.

The final of the current season is scheduled for September 13.

For Sindarov, the Global Chess League will be both a team tournament with the strongest lineup and another part of his preparation for the ultimate individual challenge—the match for the world chess crown.