London, Oct 7 (PTI) PBG Alaskan Knights narrowly defeated Alpine SG Pipers with a 9–7 score to continue their unbeaten run at the Global Chess League here.
Alaskan Knights won all their five of encounters after 15 matches, the halfway stage of the tournament.
Despite the team's top player, Anish Giri blundering a piece and losing to Magnus Carlsen in just 20 minutes, the Alaskan Knights came out on top garnering 58 game points.
Defending champions Triveni Continental Kings climbed to second place after defeating the upGrad Mumba Masters.
Continental Kings' icon, Alireza Firouzja, continued his winning streak by defeating France's top-rated player, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
Though just three game points behind the leaders, Triveni Continental Kings has recorded three wins and two losses, earning nine match points and 55 game points. Meanwhile, the upGrad Mumba Masters sit in the fifth place with only three match points.
An epic encounter between Carlsen and Nakamura highlighted the final match of the day between the Alpine SG Pipers and the American Gambits.
Both the players traded winning positions in a time scramble, and the duel ultimately ended in a draw.
The match came down to the youth board, where Daniel Darda defeated Jonas Bjerre, securing a narrow 9–7 victory for the Alpine SG Pipers, which placed them in third place with nine match points and 43 game points.
With one win and one loss in Sunday's matches, the American Gambits hold fourth place with six match points and 33 game points.
At the bottom of the standings, the Ganges Grandmasters continue to struggle, having lost their match on Sunday against American Gambits.
Former world champion Vishwanathan Anand lost to World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura after sacrificing a queen for a drawing fortress, only to lose on time.