Anish Giri is close to touching the most magical mark in chess: 2800 Elo points. Only 14 players in the history of the game have been there. His rating reached 2798 in three FIDE lists during the period 2015-16. He is the 15th strongest chess player of all time.
Giri may have fallen a bit from that height – he is now at 2728 – but, as he has shown in the last four editions of the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee (known as the Wimbledon of chess), he remains one of the world’s top players. Earlier this month in London, he led the PBG Alaskan Knights from the front in the Global Chess League. The team won the league phase of the star-studded event convincingly, but lost in the final to defending champions Triveni Continental Kings. An excerpt from an interview given by Giri The Hindu at London’s historic Friends House:
The world chess championship match is near. How do you see the clash between Ding Liren and D. Gukesh?
I will be really surprised if Gukesh doesn’t win. All point to their victory now. He has played very well for a long time.
Do you know the changes from the Gukesh you know?
If we compare Gukesh from the previous Olympics (in Chennai), I have added a solid layer to play. He is always good at generating opportunities, in going for uncompromising chess, but does not have a solid reserve. For example, when I played in the Sinquefield Cup, he was surprised by the depth of preparation. They didn’t give me a chance to start the game. Before, you will always be able to fight with him.
Gukesh won the Candidates tournament (a qualifier for the World title match), which you failed to qualify for despite leading the FIDE circuit for some time. There have been criticisms of some of the tournaments announced recently.
I think the season was really good. I performed very well in various tournaments. Well, it’s not sudden (the tournament). I know it can happen, of course. I know there is a possibility of this but I don’t think it’s a tournament that is made, but rather the fact that Gukesh manages to play so well that really matters. Because I think before the tournament I don’t worry too much. I think we should have won the tournament. And it is not so easy. There are strong players there. So I shouldn’t blame them for organizing the tournament. I just think that Gukesh played well. But more artificial with Alireza (Firouzja). They keep trying and trying and trying and trying but yeah… I mean it’s (up to) FIDE to change the rules.
So what do you think FIDE can do about it?
No, I’m a pattern. It is a pattern that they change a lot of rules, and it is difficult to think through everything. And players adapt. And again with the new cycle there are some problems already with the circuit.
level up: Giri says D. Gukesh ‘has added a solid layer to his play’ and has become even more formidable as a result. | Photo credit: Getty Images
Are there any changes for the winter cycle?
Yes, of course. I mean I have to add because it’s so hard to model. You probably need to model some software to run through it.
When people say that beating Carlsen is easier than beating Giri, how do you feel?
I personally have a very wrong impression of my style. I have a very solid image, but I think my tournaments have been unstable for years. This notion that I strongly oppose is a bit dated. I think I need to find a way but I’m definitely not solid anymore.
What are your thoughts on the way Indians dominated the Chess Olympiad in Budapest?
It was clear that the team might be the favorite but the way they dominated was more than I expected. I’m all running too. And not only do they play amazingly, but even everything that can go wrong is not wrong, or (that) can go right. It’s incredible. For example, Fabiano Caruana could have caught Gukesh, but he was wrong. Uzbekistan also has a chance somewhere, but not as well as in the last Olympics.
How did you find your experience playing in the Global Chess League?
One thing that makes this tournament special is the high dose of chess. There is very little that plays, actually. You usually don’t play just 40 minutes a day. In chess tournaments, if you have fast control or blitz, you play many games in a day. We play quite a bit. But as long as the result is good, it is good. I’m okay with that, of course. But it creates an interesting situation because you also can’t prepare much because of the toss. You don’t know the color (of your piece). So you have to organize your day. Everything in the tournament makes it as random as possible, which, I guess, is great for excitement.
Expect the unexpected: The much-talked-about Global Chess League ‘makes things random’, says Giri, ‘which is good for fun’. | Photo credit: Global Chess League
What are your thoughts on Nihal Sarin, who did well for your team?
Nihal is an amazing talent. In some areas of the game, he was more gifted than all the other children. He is very tactical. And he has excelled in fast and blitz for years, and has posted here. But classical chess is different. And there are certain areas of the game where he has to catch up too. I think in his case, it is time management and preparation, which is important in classical chess. Time management is very important. In fast and blitz, you have little time already, and the enemy has little time. But in classical chess, if you time it wrong, you’re the only one with very little time left. In certain time controls, Nihal is in the top five in the world, but in the classics, he needs to adjust.
I thought you said what you were saying to me?
I have, but I think they should come to that conclusion themselves. Chess is an individualistic game. And you want to take all the decisions yourself. You listen to advice, but you don’t have to follow it. And I think they should do it themselves. It has to come from within.
Published – 26 October 2024 12:20 IST
