Teams Revealed for the 1st Indian Chess.com League
The Indian Chess.com League, a first of its kind attempt in India, where Indian star players will play in a league format is going to start from May 15 - 17, 2020. In this post, we are going to reveal 9 teams and the stars that are filled in every team!
1) Chess Gurukul - Average Rating - 2537 - Team Captain GM R.B.Ramesh
This team needs no introduction, as it is put together by one of India’s most exceptional trainers GM R.B.Ramesh, and this team is filled with stars and prodigies like Aravindh Chithambaram, Praggnanandhaa etc.
Chess Gurukul is the favourites by rating, and we are going to see some stunning games from the stars of this team. It will also be interesting to see the various strategies employed by their team captain to get the team an edge over the rivals!
2) Superkids - Average Rating - 2514 - Team Captain GM Narayanan Srinath
You can define this team by their name “Superkids” a team full of young blood, including their young and always a kid at heart captain GM Narayanan Srinath, who will be steering this ship with the hope to win the 1st Indian Chess.com League.
This team boasts of prodigious talents like GM Nihal Sarin, WIM Divya Deshmukh etc.
3) Desi boys - Average Rating - 2498 - Team Captain IM Vishal Sareen
Desi Boys is a balanced team that has stars from North India. The highest-rated player of this team is the multiple time Commonwealth Champion Abhijeet Gupta, and GM Vaibhav Suri and folks will ably support him.
This team averages just under 2500, and having a very experienced captain; this team is a serious contender for the title in this league.
4)Five Fighters - Average Rating 2495 - Team Captain GM Vishnu Prasanna
The highest-rated player of this team is one of India’s best chess players for a long time GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly. The X-factor of Five Fighters will be D.Gukesh, and it will be interesting to see how much of a fight they are going to wage on the chessboard.
This team is captained by GM Vishnu Prasanna and is filled with students whom he is training with, so we can be very sure they will have a great team bond, and will bring a great fighting attitude to the board, and will keep the audience entertained with their gameplay.
5) United India - Average Rating 2472 - Team Captain IM Nubairshah Shaikh
When you have an Indian league, it also makes a lot of sense to have a team that calls itself “United India”. This team with an average rating of 2472 packs a punch as it has one of the highest-rated women players in India IM Bhakti Kulkarni on their side.
The young stars are Prithu Gupta, and Harsha Bharathakoti, who for sure will keep us enthralled with their fearless chess and this team is indeed a dark horse. A team that fans all over India will support unitedly!
6) Chess Thulir - Average Rating 2467 - Team Captain GM M.Shyam Sundar
A team put together by Chennai GM Shyam Sundar, has some of his students and friends coming together to play under his newly formed academy “Chess Thulir”. They may not have a high rating average, but they have a very accomplished team with the captain leading their charge, followed by French Open tournament winner Stany, and they have raw talent in L.R.Srihari.
Everyone in this team can speak Tamil, and they are based out of Chennai, so could they be the Chennai Super Kings equivalent in ICL?
7) Chess Pathshala - Average Rating - 2447 - Team Captain GM Swapnil Dhopade
The team that has the highest rated individual in this event GM S.P.Sethuraman with a rating of 2644 can never be taken lightly! This team has the right balance of youth and experience, as you have Swapnil and Sethuraman to guide the team, and the young blood is Sankalp, Krishnater, and Mrudul who would be raring to show their skills in the event.
8) Cheeky Cheetahs - Average Rating - 2432 - Team Captain Atharva Godbole
A team of youth, and only youth! That’s what you can say about this team when you see a lineup filled with players like Abhimanyu Puranik, Raja Rithvik, Aakanksha Hagwane.
These youngsters may not be high on rating average, but they are high on hopes to win this prestigious title of the 1st edition of Indian Chess.com League.
9) Undercover Agents - Average Rating - 2418 - Team Captain Padmini Rout
The team that’s spying all the other teams by being “Undercover Agents” is the one that’s headed by Olympic medal winner IM Padmini Rout, which has upcoming stars like IM Arjun Kalyan, and former National U-15 champion FM Ajay Karthikeyan.
Updated : 10) Team Chess Gyaan - Average Rating - 2459 - Team Captain M.R.Venkatesh
Surprise! Team Chess Gyaan is the last minute entry to our event and it features variety of players. We have GM Venkatesh who is known for his brilliant games in the Reti. He is also the captain of the team. . GM Aryan Chopra, IM Aronyak Ghosh and WIM Vantika Agrawal are the strong juniors and can be very strong to face on their best days.
Update : GM Swayams Mishra replaced Akash G in the team.
We have got in some exciting companies that are sponsoring this event along with Chess.com and they are Sukooon Resorts, who are the title sponsors, and the U-16 category prizes are sponsored by Maestro Chess Academy, Hyderabad.
If you are looking to partner with us in anyway, and get your brand promoted email us at [email protected]
Fans don’t miss the action from May 15-17 !
Currently work as a community manager for Chess.com India.
I have a GM norm and an IM norm. Became a FIDE Trainer recently. Coached two Indian Teams for the Olympiad for PWD. Apart from playing and teaching chess, I dabble in writing and reading. Can speak in English, Kannada, Hindi, Tamil and Marathi. I recently wrote a short story titled 'Over a Cup of Chai' that's available on amazon. My last novel 'The Lively Library & An Unlikely Romance' is a story of a library where books come to life at night.
My username was Geborgenheit previously.
Geborgenheit is a german word which is hard to explain. It can only be experienced; It could also be inner peace of your soul. Google says 'security' but it is more than that!
I do stream sometimes!