9z Globant, a team with 962 participants, took first place in the first Chess Club Showdown on Wednesday, September 30. The event featured nine teams, ranging in size from 151 to 1142 members. Everyone played a two-hour arena of five-minute blitz games. After the arena, 50 players from each of the top two teams played head-to-head matches in rating order to determine the champion.

The tournament represented a unique opportunity for amateur club members to take on some of the most famous stars of the game. Amateurs were able to challenge the likes of GMs Magnus Carlsen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Anish Giri.

Today a 1300 rated player decided to enter their first online tournament, the Chess Club Showdown.

Their third opponent? Magnus Carlsen.

— Chess.com ( @chesscom) September 30, 2026

Carlsen, the highest-rated player in the event, did not make it through undefeated. He blundered in a winning position against CM Volen Dyulgerov. Dyulgerov, known by his streaming handle Witty Alien, took advantage and celebrated his upset victory.

At the end of the arena, 9z Globant led the field with 2368 points, while Carlsen's Team Liquid Chess Club took second with 2312 points. That meant 50 players on each team would compete head-to-head with the highest-rated from each side playing each other, the second-highest playing each other, and so on down the line. 

In the finals, Team Liquid dominated on the top boards, with 2-0 victories by Carlsen on board one, GM Pranesh M on board two, and GM Emin Ohanyan on board three. However, 9z Globant struck back with strong play the rest of the way down the standings, winning the finals 53.5-45.5. GM Carlos Matamoros scored a 2-0 victory over Eirik Berget to help secure the championship for 9z Globant.

Congratulations to Team 9z Globant and thank you to all 4400 participants in the tournament. Anyone who joins a team is welcome to participate in next month's edition, which will be held on Wednesday, October 28 at 11 a.m. ET / 16:00 CET / 8:30 p.m. IST.

You can watch the broadcast of the September Chess Club Showdown, hosted by GM Benjamin Bok.