By Admin 
PBG Alaskan Knights pulled off a coup by acquiring the reigning World Champion Gukesh D. and Arjun Erigasi, who defeated legendary Magnus Carlsen in June, in its stable for the third season of the Global Chess League, to be played from December 13.
The player draft for the third season was held here on Friday, thus confirming the star-studded line-up including a galaxy of grandmasters – male and female, for the marquee event.
With Carlsen opting out of the event, the Knights had to look for a marquee signing. And it couldn’t have asked for a better option than Gukesh. Arjun’s signing turned out to be an icing on the cake for the Knights table.
“We had a big task because we had to pick all six players, and we are happy that we got World Champion Gukesh, along with a balanced team in the end,” said GM Abhijit Kunte, the Knights coach. “They (Gukesh & Arjun) will be more than happy to satisfy the fans with their performance. It’s happening in India, and it will definitely bring more cheer to our team.”
The Ganges Grandmasters has also built a strong squad with Viswanathan Anand, the iconic GM, as its marquee player, while R. Praggnanandhaa, the bespectacled GM, will lead American Gambits.
The squads: American Gambits: Hikaru Nakamura, Richard Rapport, Vladislav Artemiev, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Teodora Injac, Volodar Murzin.
Alpine SG Pipers: Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa R., Anish Giri, Hou Yifan, Nino Batsiashvili, Leon Mendonca.
Ganges Grandmasters: Viswanathan Anand, Javokhir Sindarov, Vincent Keymer, Stavroula Tsolakidou, Polina Shuvalova, Raunak Sadhwani
upGrad Mumba Masters: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Wesley So, Koneru Humpy, D. Harika, Bardiya Daneshvar.
PBG Alaskan Knights: Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Leinier Dominguez, Sara Khadem, Kateryna Lagno, Daniel Dardha.
Triveni Continental Kings: Alireza Firouzja, Yi Wei, Vidit Gujrathi, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Zhu Jiner, Marc’Andria Maurizzi.