Mumbai, Dec 18 (IANS) World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh and compatriot Arjun Erigaisi delivered in must-win situations to help PBG Alaskan Knights register their first win of the tournament while GM Alireza Firouzja won his fifth consecutive game on the icon board to help defending champions Triveni Continental Kings surge to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage in the Global Chess League (GCL) at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai on Thursday.

Continental Kings defeated upGrad Mumba Masters 9-5 in the top-of-the-table clash to take sole lead with 12 match-points, while Alaskan Knights got the better of Alpine SG Pipers 12-8 in a match that saw all six boards ending decisively. In the last match of the day, Ganges Grandmasters got the better of Fyers American Gambits 8-7 to move to third spot with nine match points.

But the highlight of the day was how Gukesh and Arjun led the turnaround for last edition’s runners-up, the Alaskan Knights.

Having lost their first four matches, Alaskan Knights faced a must-win situation against Pipers as another loss at the Royal Opera House on Thursday would have all but ended their hopes of challenging for the top two positions. They opted to play white after winning the toss, and Arjun gave them an early advantage by beating Anish Giri on the second board.

But Pipers’ in-form players Nino Batsiashvilli and Leon Luke Mendonca won with black to put the pressure back on the Knights.

Gukesh, who had struggled in the tournament so far, then came to the party with a clinical finish to beat Fabiano Caruana in 39 moves, and then Leinier Dominguez got the better of R. Praggnanandhaa, and Kateryna Lagno defeated Hou Yifan to complete the scoreline.

Explaining how things panned out for him in the match, Gukesh said, “It’s a very special feeling to get my first win. From the start, we felt we were in control, but towards the end, a few things became tricky. When I looked at the other boards, Dominguez’s game seemed around even, maybe slightly better for him, so I knew I had to push for a win. By then, I already had good chances, and my opponent was running low on time.”

Arjun, who was named the Player of the Match, said: “It was a special win as none of us had won any match so far and we won four today.”

Earlier in the day, Alireza, who had beaten the reigning world champion, former world champion, and the second and third-ranked players in the world in the earlier rounds, pounced on Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s error to maintain his all-win record.

After the Continental Kings opted to play black after winning the toss, Maurizzi, Marcandria, and Alexandra Kosteniuk could not convert their early advantage as all the other boards ended in a draw.

This meant that Alierza needed to win against his compatriot to put his team in the lead. He took the fight to MVL by opting for a Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense. Despite being under time pressure, Alireza kept the pressure on his opponent, and when his opponent blundered by moving his knight to d5, the 22-year-old Iranian-born GM pounced on the opportunity and forced the Mumba Masters’ icon player to resign after 52 moves.

Alireza, who was also named the Player of the Match, said, “We needed this win to take the lead after the first half. We have had interesting matches in the past. He beat me many times, I beat me many times, but today it was a good game for me. I tried to take risks. I knew it would be a close match, but as a black, I would get four points, and it paid off today.”

In the day’s final match, the 2025 World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov defeated Richard Rapport with black pieces to claim four game points while Viswanathan Anand drew against Hikaru Nakamura on the icon board.

Action continues on Matchday 6 with PBG Alaskan Knights playing against Fyers American Gambits in the first match and then ending the day by taking on Triveni Continental Kings, who will open their day against Alpine SG Pipers. upGrad Mumba Masters will face Ganges Grandmasters.

–IANS

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