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FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion: The Global Chess League (GCL) will hold its player draft in Mumbai on September 26 ahead of its third season in India. Six franchises will compete to assemble strong rosters from a 36-player pool comprising top Grandmasters and emerging talents from 17 chess-playing nations.

Leading the Icon Boards are reigning World Champion D. Gukesh, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Other top players in the pool are Anish Giri, R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, four-time world champion Hou Yifan, and World Cup finalist Koneru Humpy, showcasing a roster of the sport's biggest stars.