Overview

• World champion D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi headline PBG Alaskan Knights alongside Leinier Dominguez, Kateryna Lagno, Sara Khadem and Daniel Dardha.
• Wesley So joined upGrad Mumba Masters after a bidding tussle, joining retained stars Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli.
• Viswanathan Anand remained with Ganges Grandmasters as the squad added Vincent Keymer, while titleholders Triveni Continental Kings kept Alireza Firouzja, Wei Yi and Alexandra Kosteniuk.
• Matches will follow GCL’s gender‑inclusive fixed‑board model—one Icon, two men, two women and one U‑21—across a 12‑day double‑round‑robin decided on six boards.
• The Mumbai draft finalized all six rosters from a 36‑player pool divided into Icon, Men’s, Women’s and U‑21 Prodigy categories after several teams made pre‑draft retentions.