Global Chess League 2026
Global Chess League 2026 Teams and Squads
All six franchises, board by board
Thirty-six players, six teams, one squad shape: an Icon, two Superstar men, two Superstar women and a Prodigy. Here is every Season 4 squad as drafted in Mumbai on 29 June 2026, with the coach, the retained players and what each team has done in the league so far.
Alpine APL Pipers (Alpine SG Pipers)
Superstar woman
India. Won the 2025 Women's World Cup, beating Koneru Humpy in the final. They now share a team.
Superstar woman
India. Former Women's World Rapid champion and the country's most decorated woman player.
Coach: Pravin Thipsay. Retained before the draft: Anish Giri. Previous seasons: 2025 (Mumbai): champions, as Alpine SG Pipers; 2024 (London): third.
- Defending champions, and the first team to hold the title going into a season with Carlsen on board one.
- Carlsen and Giri play on the same team for the first time.
- Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy on the two women's boards is the strongest Indian women's pairing in the league.
Squad, owners and history: Alpine APL Pipers team page.
Triveni Continental Kings
Superstar woman
Switzerland. Women's World Champion in 2008 and Final MVP of Season 2.
Coach: Loek van Wely. Retained before the draft: Alireza Firouzja, Wei Yi, Zhu Jiner, Alexandra Kosteniuk. Previous seasons: 2025 (Mumbai): runners-up; 2024 (London): champions; 2023 (Dubai): champions.
- The only two-time champion in the league, and the only team to reach three finals in three seasons.
- Four players retained, the most continuity of any 2026 squad.
- A third title would make Triveni the team the league is measured against.
Squad, owners and history: Triveni Continental Kings team page.
FYERS American Gambits
Icon
Uzbekistan. Won the 2026 Candidates and plays the World Championship match later this year.
Superstar woman
Kazakhstan. Two-time Women's World Blitz champion, and the one player the Gambits retained.
Superstar woman
Spain, and widely known as Sara Khadem. Transferred from Iran in 2023.
Coach: Srinath Narayanan. Retained before the draft: Bibisara Assaubayeva. Previous seasons: 2025 (Mumbai): reached the round-robin top four; 2024 (London): fourth.
- Zapp Chess is an official partner of the FYERS American Gambits for Season 4.
- Sindarov arrives as the reigning Candidates winner, weeks before his World Championship match.
- Sindarov and Bibisara Assaubayeva are a couple, and now play on the same team.
Zapp Chess is an official partner of the Gambits for Season 4. More on the squad, the owners and the partnership on the FYERS American Gambits page.
Squad, owners and history: FYERS American Gambits team page.
Ganges Grandmasters
Coach: B. Adhiban. Retained before the draft: Polina Shuvalova, Stavroula Tsolakidou. Previous seasons: 2025 (Mumbai): mid-table; 2024 (London): sixth.
- Nepomniachtchi and Aronian give the Ganges the most experienced pair of men's boards in the league.
- Leon Mendonca is the prodigy board, in front of a home crowd.
Squad, owners and history: Ganges Grandmasters team page.
PBG Alaskan Knights
Coach: Swayams Mishra. Retained before the draft: Arjun Erigaisi, Kateryna Lagno. Previous seasons: 2025 (Mumbai): mid-table; 2024 (London): runners-up, and top of the round-robin table.
- Anand in new colours: he moves to the Alaskan Knights for Season 4.
- Anand and Arjun Erigaisi, two generations of Indian chess, on the same team.
- Erdogmus and Abhimanyu Mishra make this the youngest pair of boards in the league.
Squad, owners and history: PBG Alaskan Knights team page.
CheQ Mumba Masters (upGrad Mumba Masters)
Superstar woman
India. Three-time bronze medallist at the Women's World Championship.
Coach: P. Harikrishna. Retained before the draft: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Harika Dronavalli, Bardiya Daneshvar. Previous seasons: 2025 (Mumbai): led the round-robin table at the halfway point; 2023 (Dubai): runners-up, as upGrad Mumba Masters.
- Four players retained, second only to Triveni.
- Mamedyarov coaches Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, who plays for the Alaskan Knights: trainer against pupil when the teams meet.
Squad, owners and history: CheQ Mumba Masters team page.
How a Global Chess League squad is built
Every team in the GCL fields the same six boards. The Icon is the marquee player and plays board one. Two Superstar men and two Superstar women fill the middle boards, and a Prodigy takes the sixth. The women's boards are not a side event: their game points go into the same match score as everyone else's, which is why squads are built around six players rather than one.
Teams retain players from the previous season before the draft, then fill the rest from the pool. Triveni Continental Kings and the Mumba Masters kept four each for 2026; the Gambits kept one. Full format and scoring is on the Global Chess League 2026 page, and all 36 players grouped by board are on the players page.
Who is not playing in 2026
Several names from previous seasons are absent from the Season 4 squads: R Praggnanandhaa, who was Season 1 MVP, Hikaru Nakamura, who was the Gambits' Icon in 2025, D Gukesh, Fabiano Caruana and Hou Yifan, joint Season 3 MVP. Magnus Carlsen moves the other way: he sat out Season 3 and returns for Season 4.
Squad questions
How many teams are in the Global Chess League 2026?
Six: Alpine APL Pipers, Triveni Continental Kings, FYERS American Gambits, Ganges Grandmasters, PBG Alaskan Knights and the CheQ Mumba Masters, who played previous seasons as the upGrad Mumba Masters.
How many players are in a Global Chess League squad?
Six players per team, one to a board: an Icon, two Superstar men, two Superstar women and a Prodigy. Men and women play for the same team and their results count the same.
When was the Global Chess League 2026 draft?
The Season 4 player draft was held in Mumbai on 29 June 2026, from a pool of 36 players. Teams could retain players from their previous squad before the draft.
Are the Alpine SG Pipers and the Alpine APL Pipers the same team?
Yes. The team that won Season 3 as the Alpine SG Pipers plays Season 4 as the Alpine APL Pipers, with Anish Giri retained and Magnus Carlsen returning after a season away.
Is Praggnanandhaa playing the Global Chess League 2026?
No. R Praggnanandhaa, Hikaru Nakamura, D Gukesh, Fabiano Caruana and Hou Yifan are not in any Season 4 squad.
