CHENNAI: To a few people within the chess fraternity, Anish Giri may be considered as one of the game's nearly players. A 2800 GM at his highest level, the Dutch player has recently suffered some setbacks in terms of his ratings. There was a time when Giri qualified for two Candidates tournaments (2016 and 2020-21).
Over the last few years though, the 31-year-old has seemingly lost his mojo. He has picked up big titles, none bigger than the one he won at Wijk in 2023 when he beat Magnus Carlsen en route but he has been conspicuous by his absence in some of the biggest stages in the Classical format, his meat and drink. These days, there is perhaps an unfair reputation that he's, first and foremost, somebody who prefers safety first chess. The internet even has a name for it — draw-nish.
But Giri maintains that he still has the fire in his belly to 'achieve the highest goals in chess'. To him, that remains the World Championship. In fact, one main reason why he's featuring at Chennai Grand Masters is to prep himself for the upcoming Grand Swiss in Uzbekistan and the World Cup in India.
In an elaborate interaction with select media, he spoke on a wide number of issues including why he will continue to engage with fans on X (formerly Twitter). Excerpts:
On his 2025
Going into the year, I was mostly focusing on the World Championship cycle. I'm scheduled to play a few events to help myself get into shape and Sharjah (he won there, a meet featuring the likes of Nodirbek Abdusattarov) was one such event. I didn't expect that I would do so well there. I am happy with my form. Apart from having ambitions for the Classical World cycle, I am also very much looking forward to the World Rapid and Blitz at the end of the year.
On how he juggles different formats
It's a big challenge for me. I don't know if everybody likes it, but I always feel that I'm a step behind. After I play a lot of Blitz, only at the end of the event do I feel like I am in good shape but a Classical event is starting. I am always a step behind. This is one reason why I have decided to completely exclude freestyle chess. It's not even normal chess, it's a different game.
On his journey and if his progress hasn't happened the way he would have envisioned and what he needs to do
A lot has changed because chess is a very dynamic game because of the developments of computers. It's been changing throughout history but what previously took 10 years, now it changes in one year. I can no longer recognise the game that I play now. It's nothing to do with the game I played 10 years ago. The way we prepared was different, the approach was different. So, it's very hard to compare myself from then to now. I was basically playing a different kind of game. But I am at least satisfied that I have been able to somewhat adapt and still show good results relatively quickly. I have definitely suffered from this change at some point. I hope to catch up. It's very different for young players because they just see the game as it is now... they don't need the adjustment thing because this is chess for them. When I tell them what it was like 10 years ago, they look at me like I am some kind of grandpa. But I think I have a lot of experience and I feel it's helpful. And I am still quite motivated, unlike some of my colleagues like (Magnus) Carlsen, for example. He's won everything, I don't have this problem. So motivation is still very much there. I am eager to do well. I would have gladly retired, it would have been great. I would go to the beach and relax... I have some money. I will be happy but I think it would be a crime against my career to do it right now. I think I'm in very good form. As much as I would like to retire, when I see myself playing or training, I just cannot do it. I think I have everything it takes. If I get some wind in my back and I get lucky here and there, I can achieve the highest goals.
On how do you balance your chess with your social media persona
When I was little and young, I had a few thoughts. I was more or less a top player already and I thought, for example, I'm already so good. If I'm so eager, if I keep working all the time, wouldn't I just become some kind of an engine... thinking like this has disadvantages. Burnout, too much pressure on yourself. When you make your life chess, it sounds good in theory. It can have its drawbacks and the losses hurt much more. You get psychological traumas from all your events and it's kind of unhealthy. I realised that doing other things that I enjoy, like having a bit of fun with friends or comedy or whatever, it's not only fun but also helpful for my chess. Just going all in on chess is very risky and it can be a very dangerous idea that I briefly tried as a kid but it just wasn't for me.
On the internet's perhaps unfair memes on calling him draw-nish (here, he has drawn seven straight games; it first gained traction after he drew each of his 14 games in the 2016 edition of the Candidates)
It's probably not entirely unfair because I am, again, making a lot of draws (smiles). I think it has to do with probably the fact that I'm a very good defender. So, when I have a bad tournament, I'm often able to not lose the games that are bad. Had I been a worse defender, I would have been losing two games and nobody would be bullying me online. So, I'm happy with what I have. When I have bad tournaments... Okay, sometimes I lose, of course. I remember when I had one tournament where I was losing a few games. At that moment I realized, I told myself, 'never again will you be ungrateful and annoyed when you make all the draws'.
Keymer one win away from title
Vincent Keymer has had a largely flawless first week at the Chennai Grand Masters. Even as his rivals to the crown have slipped up, the German has been rock solid. He's now one win away from winning the title. On Wednesday, he beat Liang Awonder with the Black pieces. The young turk is on 5.5 points, 1.5 points in front of Arjun Erigaisi. The Indian top-seed, who has struggled with sore throat over the last few days, settled for a very quick draw against Anish Giri.
Results (Rd 7)
Masters: Vincent Keymer bt Liang Awonder, Arjun Erigaisi drew with Anish Giri, Nihal Sarin bt Ray Robson, Jorden van Foreest drew with V Pranav, Karthikeyan Murali bt Vidit Gujrathi.
Challengers: Harshavardhan GB bt D Harika, M Pranesh bt R Vaishali, Leon Luke Mendonca bt Diptayan Ghosh, Aryan Chopra drew with Abhimanyu Puranik, P Iniyan drew with Adhiban Baskaran.