The Maharashtra Chess League,the first ever IPL-style chess league in India,gets under way at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana on Wednesday. The inaugural day match-ups will see Pune Attackers take on Thane Combatants,Jalgaon Battlers face Mumbai Movers,and Nagpur Royals play Ahmednagar Checkers. Each tie consists of six games,all beginning simultaneously. The games would be played in rapid format,with each game having a 25-minute time limit,with each player getting five extra seconds per move. It is mandatory for teams to have at least two women players and a minimum of three Maharashtra players in their starting line-up in every tie. This is a big step forward for Indian chess. Such events are popular in Europe,but this is the first time it is being played in India. I hope it grows bigger,and gets played in many other cities in the future, said Surya Shekhar Ganguly,the highest rated Grandmaster in the tournament. In team events,you generally know whom you are going to play as the board order is fixed. In MCL,there are no restrictions as to which category player should play on which board. That would make the tournament very interesting and exciting,as it would not give too much time for a player to prepare for his opponent, said Grandmaster Tejas Bakre. The event would be fun for the players. At the same time,once you are 10-15 moves into a game,there would be pressure. People would make mistakes under pressure. It would be a different kind of challenge for all the players, Ganguly added. The tournament will be played on a league-cum-knock-out basis. Each team gets to play other five teams once,with the top four teams at the end of the league stage making it to the semis. The final of the MCL will be played on April 29.
