Dubai :The inaugural edition of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League reached its climax in the grand final which took place at the Le Meridien Hotel in Dubai. In a never-before-seen nail-biting ending to a chess event, the winner was decided through three stages of tie-breaks.After two rounds of rapid ending in a draw, and then another two rounds of blitz which also finished with draws, the Champion was decided in a series of sudden-death blitz games where the decisive outcome came in the fourth game.
In a spectacular finish, Danish 19-year-old Grandmaster Jonas Bjerre brought victory to Triveni Continental Kings after defeating Uzbek 17-year-old prodigy Javokhir Sindarov in a suspenseful game.“The last game was incredibly tense. It was really exciting. I’m still shivering”, said Bjerre whose journey in this tournament can be described as – from zero to hero.“Levon (team captain) told me – just fight, if you win this game, you will win the event”, Bjerre added.With this crucial victory, Bjerre not only clinched the title for his team but also won the $500,000 prize. The overall prize fund for the tournament was a stunning one million.