No franchise in the league has been more consistent than the Triveni Continental Kings. Titles in 2023 and 2024, a dominant regular season in 2025 that ended in a final-round defeat, and the same coach in place for all four editions. That institutional stability shows in their draft strategy: while other teams rebuilt, the Kings simply kept what was working.

The squad

Team analysis

Four retentions is the highest of any franchise this season. Alireza Firouzja anchors the Icon board with one of the strongest cumulative records of any returning player in that role, and Wei Yi's reliability on the second board gives the team a settled top half before a single game is played.

The one significant change is Aravindh Chithambaram, who makes his league debut. He arrives with a strong rapid reputation and steps straight into elite company — the sort of test the Kings have historically been good at preparing players for.

Alexandra Kosteniuk and Zhu Jiner form a formidable women's pairing, both well suited to the short format. Pranav Venkatesh, also a debutant, takes the Prodigy board and brings serious speed-chess credentials with him.

Storylines to watch

• Can a settled squad finally convert regular-season dominance into a third title?

• Aravindh Chithambaram's league debut against the world's best

• Kosteniuk and Zhu Jiner as potentially the highest-scoring women's pairing in the field

• Loek van Wely's fourth season in charge — the longest coaching tenure in the league

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