The Alpine APL Pipers arrive in Bengaluru as the reigning champions, but the squad that lifted the trophy in 2025 is largely gone. Only Anish Giri returns from that winning line-up. What the franchise has built in its place is arguably the most star-forward roster in the league — starting at the very top, with the world No. 1 taking the Icon board.

The squad

Team analysis

Carlsen's return to the league is the single biggest headline of the draft, and it comes with an obvious consequence: every opponent will be preparing for him specifically. Alongside him, Giri and Vidit Gujrathi give the franchise two vastly experienced, tactically flexible players who happen to know each other's games extremely well.

The women's boards may be the strongest single pairing in the competition. Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh represent two generations of Indian chess and have already faced each other on the sport's biggest stages. Fielding both in the same franchise, in front of an Indian crowd, is a genuine draw for the Bengaluru audience.

On the Prodigy board, Volodar Murzin brings a world rapid title to a format built entirely around fast time controls — a natural fit, and a quietly significant one on a board where a single result can swing a match.

Storylines to watch

• Carlsen and Giri on the same team for the first time

• Humpy and Deshmukh moving from opponents to teammates

• Whether the Pipers can defend a title with an almost entirely new squad

• Murzin's rapid pedigree on a board designed for speed

The fourth season of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League runs from 3–13 September 2026 in Bengaluru. Each franchise fields an Icon, two Superstar Men, two Superstar Women and a Prodigy, competing under the league's signature scoring system — four points for a win with Black, three with White.

Author: Sagar Saha