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The MCL will be played on a rapid-chess format with games lasting for just 25 minutes. Teenage Grand Master Vidit Gujrathi,from Nashik,was the first to be auctioned and four teams posted bids for his services. Gujratis base-price was Rs 60,000 but he was finally sold for Rs 95,000 to the Jalgaon Battlers. Grand Master GN Gopal was the next name and a mini-bidding battle erupted for his services with the 24-year-old from Kerala going to the Checkers for Rs 80,000. MR Lalit Babu,the reigning Commonwealth Champion fetched Rs 80,000 and will feature for the Pune Attackers. Interestingly,Grand Master Abhijit Kunte,remained unsold.

Thane Combatants coach,Jayant Gokhale and team owner Sachin Awasthi said that buying relatively unknown and underrated players was their chosen strategy. We have Surya but apart from him we have picked up players who havent broken on to the international stage. This format of rapid-chess is exciting and an unknown player is a dangerous quantity, said Gokhale.

The MCL auction also threw up a surprise as 13-year-old Abhimanyu Puranik,a FIDE Candidate Master and the world number 37 in the under-14 age-group was given a Rs 13,000 paycheck by the Combatants.