Know Your Players: Meet the stars who will represent Balan Alaskan Knights in Global Chess League

Six franchises are set to take part in the inaugural edition

The 2023 FIDE World Championship finalist Ian Nepomniachtchi leads the star-studded squad of Balan Alaskan Knights in the inaugural edition of Global Chess League which also includes the reigning women’s world rapid champion Tan Zhongyi of China and Uzbek teenage sensation Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Owned by Punit Balan Group (PBG), Balan Alaskan Knights is among the six franchises to compete in the league scheduled at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club from June 21 to July 2.

 Balan Alaskan Knights will start their campaign tomorrow as they will take on SG Alpine Warriors on Friday. They will also face upGrad Mumba Masters on the same day. 

Here are the player profiles of Team Balan Alaskan Knights below. 

1. Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)

Born: Bryansk, Russia

- His grandfather was a famous teacher and lyricist.

- Born into a Jewish/Russian family.

- Ian learned to play chess at the age of 4.

- His uncle, Igor Nepomniashchy was his first teacher, then GM Valentin Evdokimenko took over, coaching him from age five to 13.

- Nepomniachtchi won three consecutive European Youth Chess Championship title (U-10, twice in U-12)

- He Earned the International Master (IM) title at the age of 13 and the coveted Grandmaster in 2007 at the age of 17.

- In 2021 Nepomniachtchi would become only the second player, after GM Sergey Karjakin, to win both the Under-12 World Championship and the World Championship Candidates tournaments.

- Along with chess Ian has keen interest in Esports & gaming.

- He turned semi-professional in DOTA 2 and won the Asus Cup Winter 2011 (A Dota tournament), and has also served as a commentator at the ESL One Hamburg 2018 Dota 2 tournament.

Achievements

2023 FIDE World Championship finalist

European Individual Chess Championship (2010)

Won the Russian Championship twice (2010, 2020)

Tal Memorial Tournament champion (2016)

2. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan)

Born: September 18, 2004 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

- Nodirbek learned the chess rules by watching the game of his brother and sister (who attended chess classes).

- In April 2015 FIDE rating list, he became the youngest player to enter the top-100 juniors at the age of 11.

- In October 2017, he won the third and last norm at the 2017 Mikhail Chigorin Memorial Tournament to become the second youngest Grandmaster at that time. (title awarded in 2018)

- At the age of 9, he defeated two GMs Andrei Zhigalko and Rustam Khusnutdinov in the 8th tournament dedicated in the memory of Georgy Agzamov in Tashkent.

- Abdusattorov won the World Rapid Chess Championship 2021, becoming the youngest ever World Rapid Champion at the age of just 17

Achievements:

Won the 2021 World Rapid Championship

Played on the first board for team Uzbekistan that won the Golf Medal at 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad

Won individual silver at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad for his Board 1 performance

Won the 2012 World Youth Championships Under-8 division

3. Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan)

Born: Baku, Azerbaijan

- Radjabov began playing chess at the age three.

- His father Boris Sheynin works as a petroleum engineer who was also interested in chess & attended the same chess school in Baku as the legendary chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov. His mother, Leyla Radjabova, is an English language teacher.

- Radjabov was coached by his father early on in his career.

- By the late 1990s, he was a regular in the European and World Youth Chess Championships

- Teimour was U-10 European Champion in 1996 and 1997, and U-12 European and World Champion in 1998.

- In 1999, he won the European Under-18 Championship when he was still 12.

- Radjabov achieved the title of Grandmaster in 2001 at the age of 14.

- In 2003, Teimur defeated the legendary Garry Kasparov handing him defeat in his first game with white in six years.

Achievements:

Bronze medal at the 2004 World Championship

Won an individual bronze medal on the top board at the Chess Olympiad 2012 (Istanbul)

2019 FIDE World Cup champion

European Team Chess Championship winner with Azerbaijan (2009, 2013, and 2017)

5 times European club cup winner with different Clubs / Teams

4 Nino Batsiashvili (Georgia)

Born: Batumi, Georgia (Undivided Soviet Union)

- She is a current Georgian women's chess champion having previously won the title thrice (2015, 2018, 2020, 2022)

- Batsiashvili was a member of the Georgian team that won gold in the Women's World Team Chess Championship 2015, held in Chengdu, China. Batsiashvili also won the individual bronze medal on Board Four.

- Nino Batsiashvili was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2018.

Achievements:  

Individual gold at the 44th Chess Olympiad at board 2 in the women’s section.

Gold medal with Georgia in the Women’s World Team Championship in China (2015)4-time Georgia national champion

5. Tan Zhongyi (China)

Born: Chongqing, China

- She started learning to play chess at the age of 6.

- Tan was inspired by Chinese Grandmaster Xie Jun (the first Asian female to become a GM).

- Unlike other stars from her generation, she did not attend a sports college in Beijing as she was well-supported in her hometown.

- It did not take her long to display her talent as she went on to win the World Youth U-10 Girls Chess Championship twice, in 2000 and 2001

- She continued her fine form winning the World Youth U-12 Girls Chess Championship in 2002.

- Tan Zhongyi came first in the students’ world championship and won the China Women Masters in 2013 and 2015.

- In 2017, Tan became only the fifth Chinese woman to become Women’s World Champion when she won the title in Iran.

- Tan was nominated for the best non-Olympic athlete in the 2017 China Top Ten Laurence Award.

Achievements:

Individual gold medal on board four at the 2016 Chess Olympiad

Won the Asian blitz championship (2014)

Women’s world chess champion (2017)

Won the Women's World Rapid Championship (2022)

Women's World Chess Team Championship (2011)

6. Raunak Sadhwani (India)

- Raunak began his journey in chess at the age of 8 years.

- His family has a chemical repacking business and each parent takes turns to accompany Raunak to various tournaments.

- The Indian youngster started playing chess as a hobby and gradually his interest and effort towards the sport kept growing.

- Looking at his interest in chess, his parents Heena and Bharat Sadhwani supported him to pursue chess.

- Raunak earned the GM title at the age of just 13, making him the ninth-youngest in history at that point. He was also the first Grandmaster from Nagpur.

- He won a bronze with the Indian B team at the 2022 Chess Olympiad.

- Along with chess Raunak is a big cricket fan and watches cricket whenever he gets time. He is a big admirer of Rohit Sharma and AB de Villiers. He watches cricket to relax.

Achievements:

Bronze medal with the Indian B team at the 2022 Chess Olympiad Olympiad (Open Section)

Bronze medal at under-10 Asian Youth 2015 in South Korea

U-10 Commonwealth Chess Champion (2015)

3rd place at the National Juniors (under-19) (2016)