Second season of GCL will be a fun event for all to enjoy: Anand

Five-time World champion Anand discusses the upcoming Global Chess League, designed to attract TV audiences with new features.

Five-time World chess champion Viswanathan Anand, an ‘icon player’ for Ganges Grandmasters in the second edition of the Global Chess League (GCL) scheduled to begin in London on October 3, says the event has been designed to attract television audience.

“This league has been conceived with a TV audience in mind. The visual presentation, the colour uniforms of teams, the music at the start have all been designed to arouse the curiosity of a new audience,” said the 54-year-old, currently the FIDE deputy president, on a virtual chat with The Hindu on Tuesday.

Anand is sure that this season’s GCL will succeed like it did in the previous year, given the minor tweaks the league has undertaken.

“The teams in GCL have been shuffled considerably though the icon players have stayed on from last year. Time control is slightly different with no increments being a very important facet. The scoring is dynamic and unpredictable. All the teams will be a bit more cautious. Last time, I felt by the sixth round that qualification of my team was sure. And we couldn’t make it to the final. The first edition of GCL was a big success. There are very good chances to repeat it,” he said.

GCL, according to Anand, will be a completely new experience for teams and audience alike. “It will be a fun event. A franchise-based league will not be like an Olympiad or any other tournament. The vibes will be completely different,” said the six-time winner of the Chess Oscar.

Anand sounded confident of his team’s chances. “I am very happy with my team (comprising Arjun Erigaisi, Parham Maghsoodloo, Volodar Murzin, Nurgyul Salimova, and R. Vaishali), which is very young. I was joking about what was my role in the team. My role, I said, is to think that I am 25 years old! At the same time, it’s a pleasure working with some exciting players. It will be a good learning for me. We want to take it step-by-step. Of course, we want to qualify and win.”