The video captures a post‑match interview after the Ganges Grandmasters (GCL) Season 4 debut win in Bangalore. Aryaman Sharma, serving as a coach, and Grandmaster Levon Aronian discuss their reactions to beating Magnus Carlsen, the quality of the competition, and the team’s journey. They highlight the camaraderie among teammates—including the strong performance of the women’s boards—celebration plans, crowd enthusiasm, and personal rituals such as Aryaman’s fasting superstition. Other speakers (designated A‑F) touch on the acquisition of the MG D1 Grandmaster franchise, the secret celebration, and the role of team members like Leon Mendonça and Starla. The conversation blends enthusiastic praise, reflective analysis of the match, and light‑hearted anecdotes about bikes, autograph sessions, and future aspirations.
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The audience, please stay back for the closing ceremony, which will be starting shortly.
Thank you.
That's Nepal. Interesting. How does it feel for the first Ganges win?
GG, GG, GG, GG.
Okay, so sorry.
While you just did, how was the game today against Magnus? Was one of the best games you have played?
No, it was one of the worst games, but then he blundered something very childish. It was very childish, but it was like my only hope, and it worked suddenly.
But I think it was like very important coming to Grand.
At that point, no, of course, of course. I mean, it's better winning than losing.
Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
Sir, please.
No, no, sir.
Starla, how does it feel to get the I don't know what's happening.
How come?
Congrats on the bike, by the way.
Thank you so much.
Unreal things are happening.
You have to learn, uh, riding the bike now when you go back to Greece.
I have to learn immediately. It was super cool.
What was your best memory from this tournament?
Yeah, I mean, winning the last match was amazing. And yeah, all the— all my teammates were just the best. I was— it's such an honor to be in the same team as them. So yeah, I had a great time and I thank everyone for making this possible.
Did you love Bangalore?
Of course, it was super nice. And you know, Vance reminded me that when I got invited last year, I was surprised to get even invited. So now we got here, so I'm very happy about this journey.
It's awesome actually. We thought we had a good team in the bid. Manu with his brains, and I guess me with my hands.
And how did MG D1 come about, you know, taking the ownership of Grandchester Grandmasters?
It was a very last moment thing, actually. A few days before the auction, we came to know that, you know, this is up for grabs. Gaurav called us and we just grabbed it, I guess.
And how are you guys going to celebrate this?
I can't reveal that.
It's a secret?
It's definitely a secret.
Whatever MJD One is touching is converting into victory. Let it be Chennai GM and now this Ganges Grandmaster. How's your thought about it?
Hmm, someone actually told us that Grandmasters should be our IP. Chennai Grandmasters, Ganges Grandmasters, and maybe more. I guess it's the players, you know, their trust in us, and that's about it actually. Their trust in us is what works.
What is it with the team events and Levon Aronian? What's the connection? How are you feeling? And you have done it once again.
Yeah, I'm very happy. What do you think the sauce was? Uh, I think keeping, keeping on fighting because I think the team was not playing well and I was failing to be a positive player for the team because I won through— I lost 3 in a row. But, you know, Those things can happen. You're just having a bad day and things don't work out, and you just have to fight.
You were the clutch player that Ganges were looking for in the finals, and you ended up beating Anish Giri, who was in tremendous form, at least at the first half of the event. Did you have any special preparation or anything of that sort when you went to the finals, or it was as usual, the experience of Levon worked here?
Well, generally when I get to the finals, I normally win.
That's a fact.
Yes, 100% success rate. What's the secret behind that?
I just, you know, uh, I don't like backing off when I'm very close to the victory. It becomes a matter of principle. So yeah, I mean, it's something that I treasure a lot, being able to win tournaments. I had Throughout my career, I had many disastrous tournaments, many, many, but I think I won many events. So because of the fact that it's very important for me, I don't care about finishing in the middle. I would rather win one and finish last.
Levon, throughout the tournament, all of you guys, whenever you won, someone or the other has always mentioned this guy. So Can you talk about what he's done throughout the tournament for all of you?
Yeah, well, Aryaman, you know, he's such a friendly, such a calm and pleasant person. I've known him since he was very young, and even our fathers are friends in a way.
Yes.
So although they don't understand each other, but I mean, there is good positive energy coming from Adipan, and he was mainly helping the girls, I think, and he managed really to turn them into a deadly force. I mean, you know, I already told some of our players, when I was joining the team, I was thinking, oh, maybe we'll have a good time, but... Maybe we'll finish last because I was thinking, you know, our girls' boards are not so strong as the others, but I had no idea what kind of players they are. And yes, I discovered that actually we have the secret sauce, which is the strongest girls in tournament.
A lot was said about the team camaraderie and how you guys kept, uh, you know, the Momentum away, like momentum with you, with the team bond you guys share, always laughing, always cheering. A bit on that, I mean, how was it?
I think, uh, we have very relaxed, egoless, uh, structure in a team, and everybody can make a joke, you know, there is no limits to jokes. And I think Leon Mendonça He was great for the team as somebody who's not discouraged, and he was supporting everybody very well. So yeah, I just felt like it was some family type of experience. I will treasure those days.
Hello, man. You have turned away Neffo play today?
Oh yes. Well, I think he he was. Trying to create chances, and of course this game that he won was decisive game, and we felt yeah when I was looking at it I was feeling that maybe he's losing, but then some miracle happened. So yeah, kudos to him. I mean, he's such a fighter, and oh, I mean he. He scored plus three on board one. That's that's huge.
And your thoughts on the crowd here?
The response overall? It's it's amazing. When my friend Ashwin told me that there is lots of fans in Bangalore, I was not really aware. Yeah, it's really beautiful to see people love chess in this city.
After the first game of the final, you had— I don't know how long a chat it was, but I saw you having a chat with Leon.
Yeah.
What was that about? I mean, obviously, he had lost. So, I am assuming it was something to do with cheering him up.
No, no. I was just telling him that they kind of relaxed, I felt, before the second match. And if we had won the match, they are going to come all guns. And we never know how it will go. We could even lose the match. So, I was happy that we— it was like, okay, we still have a chance. I wanted him to feel that his vote is important, that he also has to contribute. So, I was just trying to cheer him up because I told him this game is what is going to decide who wins the final. So, I was trying to cheer him up. I don't know if I got through to him, but I think eventually he believed and he wanted to contribute. But I think the girls, Yann and Levon, they did a great job and they got us to the finals. अरिबान इस फर्स्ट टाइम आज कोच इन द GCL एंड परहैप्स लाइक बिकमिंग अ फुलटाइम कोच एट दिस लेवल हाउ हैप्पी आर यू विथ योर टीम्स परफॉर्मेंस एंड योर यू नो कंट्रीब्यूशन तू द टीम या या नो आई जस्ट आई एम नॉट अ फुलटाइम कोच सो वांटेड टू क्लारिफाई आई एम लाइक अ प्रोफेशनल प्लेयर सो आई क So getting to understand how the players are and their psychology, how they prepare, is something I really wanted to know. So that was the reason I wanted to be part of this team. And yeah, to win the GCL Season 4 in the debut is amazing and something I'm very proud of.
And I don't know, your thoughts on the quality of the competition? Every team is equally strong. So your thoughts on that, and how did you find, you know, interacting with Some of the world's best players?
Yeah, I think it was like a great experience because I've always been only as an opponent. So, I could not ask a lot of advice. But this time, as a coach, I get to understand how they are feeling after a match. And so, it was, I think, overall just very nice.
And were the crowds— were you reminded of the Chennai Olympiad?
Yeah, yeah, a lot. Yeah, like getting mobbed by the crowd or something. I was reminded of Olympiad. Once you start signing, it never ends. And you have to keep signing till— and I know they took a lot of effort to come. So, even that's why I wanted to make sure that everyone got their autograph and their picture. And even though maybe I would have made things late for GCL, I wanted to make sure that the fans were happy.
How about the superstition of not eating?
Yeah, yeah. That actually, it started, I think we lost a match and the next match was very important and we had to win that match. I decided that okay, I didn't have like breakfast, I didn't have lunch, and I told myself if the team is not winning, I will also not have dinner. And they won, and so I could actually have. And I thought okay, why why fix something which doesn't break? So I started to fast every lunch. I didn't have lunch for the past five days, and also with the thought that I will not also have dinner if the team doesn't win. But luckily, my team was always winning, and they were helping me, so I could at least have dinner. Yeah, so my Stomach is literally crying now. Yeah.
Is the team taking you out for dinner today?
Yeah, I think no. We'll probably eat at the hotel. I think we are just too tired to go out, but at least I can have dinner, so I'm happy about that.
