Bengaluru, August 26, 2026: The Road to GCL initiative gave 80 young chess players an opportunity to watch the Global Chess League Season 4 live from September 5, as 17-year-old Apoorv Kamble won the FIDE-rated rapid tournament at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday. The event was powered by the Global Chess League in collaboration with CircleChess and organised by Golden Aura Trust.
Kamble scored 8.5 points from nine rounds to clinch the title, with Sammed Jaykumar Shete finishing second and Vaidyanathan Kannan third. More than 700 players competed across age groups and rating categories.
The tournament was played over nine rounds in the Swiss format, with a time control of 10 minutes plus a five-second increment. It carried a total cash prize purse of ₹4 lakh.
Kamble said he had registered for the tournament at the last minute after returning from the Asian Junior Championship in Mumbai.
“I wasn’t planning to play this tournament as I had just returned from Mumbai. I decided to register at the last minute, and it turned out to be a great decision,” he said.
“I had two strong wins against Sameer Shetty and top seed Vishak Enna. Finishing with 8.5 points gives me a lot of confidence. This win has given me more belief to take on higher-rated players without being intimidated,” he added.
Grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna, who has previously coached reigning world champion Gukesh D, was also among the participants.
Gourav Rakshit, Commissioner of the Global Chess League, made the ceremonial first move on Board One before the fifth round.
“Road to GCL is about bringing the excitement of the Global Chess League closer to the chess community, and the response in Bengaluru has been extremely encouraging. Bringing more than 700 players together for a FIDE-rated rapid tournament reflects the city’s passion for chess, particularly among the younger generation,” Rakshit said.
“We are delighted to bring some of the world’s best chess players to Bengaluru for the Global Chess League and hope this event encourages more young players across India to take up the sport,” he added.
The tournament formed part of the wider Road2GCL initiative, which seeks to engage grassroots players, schools, clubs and local chess communities in the build-up to the league through tournaments and other community-led activities.
Chief Arbiter Saleem Beige supervised the competition, which was conducted following AICF, KSCA and BUDCA guidelines.
Season 4 of the Global Chess League will be held in Bengaluru from September 5 to 13 and will feature six international franchises. The player line-up includes World No 1, Magnus Carlsen, chess legend, Viswanathan Anand, Arjun Erigaisi, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Levon Aronian, Candidates Champion, Javokhir Sindarov, Nihal Sarin and Reigning World Cup winner, Divya Deshmukh, among others.
A joint venture between Tech Mahindra and FIDE, the Global Chess League features six-player franchise teams comprising leading male, female and prodigy players. Its previous editions were held in Dubai, London and Mumbai.
