Team Chess Gurukul, comprising young Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and Karthikeyan Murali, beat Superkids in the Superfinal on Sunday to win Indian Chess.com League.
Praggnanandhaa drew his game against fellow prodigy and GM Nihal Sarin to help Chess Gurukul captained by noted coach RB Ramesh clinch the title.
In an earlier game of the seven-match Superfinal, Murali had settled for a draw with Arjun Erigaisi after he had beaten young GM Raunak Sadhwani. He had also posted an important win for his team, beating Narayanan Srinath.
The winning team received a prize money of Rs 35,000.
Superkids and Chess Gurukul had qualified for the summit clash after finishing first and second respectively in the 10-team round-robin phase.
The event, which saw around 25 Indian Grandmasters participate, was played on a blitz format.
Among those who took part were India No 6 SP Sethuraman, the world’s second youngest Grandmaster ever D Gukesh, Surya Sekhar Ganguly, Narayanan Srinath, Tania Sachdev and Divya Deshmukh, apart from Praggnanandhaa and Sarin.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!