The inaugural Global Chess League (GCL), which got underway in Dubai on June 22, is the latest event to offer a new format for the game. The franchise-style format allows fans to follow teams, as well as players, and some of the game’s biggest stars are getting involved. “I think this is definitely something quite special,” grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who is participating in the tournament, told CNN. Carlsen hopes the new league format will succeed in opening the game up to a new audience, an ambition matched by the GCL chairperson Jagdish Mitra. “I think it’s an opportunity for the sport of chess and its 600 million fans,” Mitra told CNN Sport.

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Persons: it’s, Magnus Carlsen, Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Ian Nepomniachtchi, ” Carlsen, ” Magnus Carlsen, Ali Haider, Chess.com, Jagdish Mitra, “, ” Mitra, It’s, Mitra Organizations: CNN, Global Chess League, “, FIDE, Tech Mahindra, SG Alpine Warriors, Global, GCL, CNN Sport Locations: Dubai, Indian, Russian