New Delhi [India], December 20 : Marc'andria Maurizzi registered a last-gasp win over Volodar Murzin on the prodigy board to help defending champions Triveni Continental Kings escape to an 8-7 victory over Fyers Amerian Gambits and open up a six-point lead at the top of the leader board on Matchday 7 in the Global Chess League, a joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE, as per a release.
Ganges Grandmasters defeated Alpine SG Pipers but lost to PBG Alaskan Knights and now sit in third place with 12 match points.
upGrad Mumba Masters are second with 12 match points despite going dow to American Gambits 16-1 on Saturday while the Continental Kings have 18 points and already have one foot in the final.
At one stage, it looked like the American Gambits had thrown the race for the top two spots wide open, having hammered second played Mumba Masters 16-1 in the first match of the day and had taken a 7-4 lead against the Continental Kings after Theodora Injac defeated Alexandra Kostenieuk on the women's superstar board.
This meant that Maurizzi had to beat world rapid champion Murzin on the prodigy board with black to earn four game points to extend Continental Kings lead at the top of the table. He did that in style to win the match for his team and also earn the Player of the Match award.
Earlier, Mumba Masters' hopes of sealing a final spot suffered a major setback after they were crushed by American Gambits in the reverse fixture.
After actor and fitness enthusiast Milind Soman made the ceremonial move on the icon board, Vladislav Artemiev started Gambit's march with a convincing win over Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura then beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on the icon board in 55 moves. Player of the Match Richard Rapport then put the result beyond doubt with a win over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
In fact, only Bardiya Daneshwar was the only Mumba Masters' player to earn a point after he drew with Volodar Murzin.
Second-placed Mumba Masters' slip up opened the doors for the other teams and Ganges Grandmasters' closed the gap with a 10-9 win over Alpine SG Pipers.
The Grandmasters had a chance to move up to second spot in the final match of the day as they were facing last-placed PBG Alaskan Knights.
Sara Khadem defeated Stavroula Tsolakidou and Player of the match Arjun Erigaisi choked Vincent Keymer with white pieces to garner six crucial points for their team.
On the icon board, world champion D Gukesh also pressed for victory against Viswanathan Anand but could not convert his advantage in a rook-pawn endgame but the draw was enough to ensure a victory for the Knights.