Leon Mendonca at the Global Chess League

FIDE title

Grandmaster

Federation

India

2026 team

Ganges Grandmasters

2026 board

Prodigy (board six)

Seasons

2025, 2026

FIDE id

35028561

Mendonca won the 2025 Global Chess League title on the Prodigy board of the Alpine SG Pipers and won both his games in the final. For 2026 the Ganges Grandmasters picked him for the same board.

In the 2026 season Mendonca plays for the Ganges Grandmasters on board six as the team's Prodigy. The season runs from 5 to 13 September 2026 in Bengaluru, India.

Global Chess League record

In 2025 Mendonca scored 5 points from 10 games in the league stage in Mumbai. In the final the Pipers beat the Triveni Continental Kings 4-2 and 4.5-1.5, and Mendonca won both of his games, the second of them against Marc'Andria Maurizzi.

1. 1.2025: Alpine SG Pipers, Prodigy. Team result: champions. Scored 5 points from 10 games in the league stage and won both his games in the final.

Career highlights

1. 1.Won the Tata Steel Challengers in 2024 with 9.5 points from 13 games and played the Masters group in 2025.
2. 2.Global Chess League champion in 2025 with the Alpine SG Pipers, with two wins from two games in the final.
3. 3.Earned the grandmaster title in 2021.
4. 4.Plays the Prodigy board for the Ganges Grandmasters in 2026.
5. 5.On the September 2026 FIDE rating list, Mendonca is rated 2633 in classical chess, 2551 in rapid and 2520 in blitz.

2026 season

Leon Mendonca plays the 2026 season with the Ganges Grandmasters, which runs from 5 to 13 September 2026 in Bengaluru, India. Mendonca's squad mates are Ian Nepomniachtchi, Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez, Polina Shuvalova and Stavroula Tsolakidou.

Each Global Chess League match is played on six boards of rapid chess, one board per squad member, and a win with Black earns the team more game points than a win with White. The format and scoring page explains the points. Matches are streamed free; the how-to-watch page lists the streams and the IST start times.

• —Matches played: 10
• —Match points: 18
• —Game points: 95
• —Position: 1 of 6

1. 1.Saturday 5 September, 17:00 IST: Ganges Grandmasters 10–9 Triveni Continental Kings
2. 2.Sunday 6 September, 15:30 IST: Ganges Grandmasters 6–11 Alpine APL Pipers
3. 3.Sunday 6 September, 18:30 IST: Ganges Grandmasters 9–7 FYERS American Gambits
4. 4.Monday 7 September, 17:00 IST: CheQ Mumba Masters 12–3 Ganges Grandmasters
5. 5.Tuesday 8 September, 15:30 IST: Ganges Grandmasters 12–8 PBG Alaskan Knights
6. 6.Wednesday 9 September, 17:00 IST: Triveni Continental Kings 3–15 Ganges Grandmasters
7. 7.Thursday 10 September, 15:30 IST: Alpine APL Pipers 4–12 Ganges Grandmasters
8. 8.Thursday 10 September, 20:00 IST: Ganges Grandmasters 5–13 FYERS American Gambits
9. 9.Friday 11 September, 20:00 IST: Ganges Grandmasters 16–1 CheQ Mumba Masters
10. 10.Saturday 12 September, 18:30 IST: PBG Alaskan Knights 9–7 Ganges Grandmasters

Results were last checked on 13 September 2026 at 8:36 PM IST.

The 2026 final is in progress. Scores so far: Finals | Game 1: Alpine APL Pipers 8, Ganges Grandmasters 7; Finals | Game 2: Alpine APL Pipers 4, Ganges Grandmasters 12.

2026 games

Mendonca has 12 finished games in the 2026 season: 3 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses, 14 team points earned.

1. 1.Saturday 5 September, 17:00 IST: board 6, White against Pranav, V (Triveni Continental Kings), loss.
2. 2.Sunday 6 September, 15:30 IST: board 6, White against Murzin, Volodar (Alpine APL Pipers), draw.
3. 3.Sunday 6 September, 18:30 IST: board 6, White against Maurizzi, MarcAndria (FYERS American Gambits), draw.
4. 4.Monday 7 September, 17:00 IST: board 6, Black against Daneshvar, Bardiya (CheQ Mumba Masters), loss.
5. 5.Tuesday 8 September, 15:30 IST: board 6, White against Mishra, Abhimanyu (PBG Alaskan Knights), win.
6. 6.Wednesday 9 September, 17:00 IST: board 6, Black against Pranav, V (Triveni Continental Kings), win.
7. 7.Thursday 10 September, 15:30 IST: board 6, Black against Murzin, Volodar (Alpine APL Pipers), draw.
8. 8.Thursday 10 September, 20:00 IST: board 6, Black against Maurizzi, MarcAndria (FYERS American Gambits), loss.
9. 9.Friday 11 September, 20:00 IST: board 6, White against Daneshvar, Bardiya (CheQ Mumba Masters), win.
10. 10.Saturday 12 September, 18:30 IST: board 6, Black against Mishra, Abhimanyu (PBG Alaskan Knights), loss.
11. 11.Sunday 13 September, 18:30 IST: board 6, White against Murzin, Volodar (Alpine APL Pipers), loss.
12. 12.Sunday 13 September, 19:30 IST: board 6, Black against Murzin, Volodar (Alpine APL Pipers), draw.

Daily reports mentioning Mendonca

1. 1.Day 3: Pipers take sole lead with three Black wins
2. 2.Day 5: Gambits hold lead in three-way tie
3. 3.Day 7: Grandmasters take lead after five wins
4. 4.The final: Grandmasters force a split with two Black wins

Frequently asked questions

More on the league: the Global Chess League 2026 hub, the schedule, the points table and the league overview with every season since 2023.