New Delhi
Global Chess League (GCL) launched GCL Contenders 2025, creating a direct pathway for aspiring chess players to compete alongside the game’s elite. Through GCL Contenders 2025, a two-month global initiative, three winners will earn the ultimate lifetime opportunity to enter GCL Season 3 as the league ambassadors and a chance to go shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s most elite Grandmasters in the first-ever franchise-based chess league.
Open to amateurs and professionals, this multi-tiered tournament will spotlight grassroots talent, strengthen the chess community, and culminate with the winners stepping onto the same stage as global icons.
With the registration opening from August 28, GCL Contenders will take place for almost a month, leading up to Season 3 of the Global Chess League, scheduled to kick off on December 13.
Peeyush Dubey, Chairperson, Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, said, “With GCL Contenders, we are taking this vision further by opening the stage to aspiring players worldwide, allowing them to potentially compete alongside the world’s greatest Grandmasters. This is more than a tournament; it is a landmark step for the global chess community, one that will inspire players and fans across generations and geographies.”
GCL Contenders 2025, a multi-tiered tournament, is designed to unlock grassroots talent, strengthen the global chess community and culminate with winners sharing the stage with global icons. In addition, GCL Contenders will unite players across six time zones – from India to the USA, UK, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia – fuelling the league’s growth as a truly global chess community. Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE president, said, “The Global Chess League is an innovative concept that brought new ideas to chess and engaged new audiences. We are excited to see this continue with the new Contenders programme, which will bring together professional and non-professional players in competition to become the ambassadors of the third season of the GCL
