Chess Bundesliga

German team chess league The term Chess Bundesliga (German: Schach-Bundesliga) normally refers to the premier league of team chess in Germany established in 1980. It is arguably the strongest league of its kind and attracts many high-rated grandmasters. Austria also has a Bundesliga for chess, usually described as the Bundesliga OST (for Österreich). Format Sixteen teams face each other in a single round robin format, each match-day team formed of eight players. The season runs between October and April. Team members may be male or female, but there is also a separate Bundesliga restricted to female players ("Frauen-Schach-Bundesliga"). Each playing weekend normally comprises two matches for each team, played on consecutive days. Matches are arranged so that teams pair up as "travelling partners". Many of the titled professionals are paid an appearance fee and/or travel expenses. Season 2006/07 Prior to the commencement of the season, reigning champions OSC Baden-Baden [de] started as runaway favourites - their impressive squad was topped by Viswanathan Anand, Peter Svidler, Alexei Shirov, Étienne Bacrot, Magnus Carlsen, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Pentala Harikrishna and Francisco V