But finally, Carlsen threw in the towel against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and exited the playing hall in a huff. What made matters worse was that his team, the Alpine SG Pipers, lost 5-14 to the upGrad Mumba Masters with defeats for Richard Rapport and Daniel Dardha.

The $1mn Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, which has brought world No 1 Magnus Carlsen and many other top grandmasters to London this week, reaches its final on Saturday. The franchise-based six-team league has already sparked controversy.

Alaskan Knights maintained their unbeaten streak by defeating Magnus Carlsen's Alpine Sg Pipers 9-7 in the Global Chess League, despite Carlsen winning against Anish Giri. Key victories by Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Tan Zhongyi secured their lead.

The American Gambits scored a crucial victory against the Ganges Grandmasters in the opening round of day four of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League on Sunday. Hikaru Nakamura and Elisabeth Paehtz lead the winning charge for the American Gambits.