Over the years, Anish Giri has thoroughly established himself as an elite chess player. At the age of 25, he has already been a two-time candidate to the world title and is currently ranked #10 in the world. Alongside this, he is known as a witty and vocal individual and is understandably quite popular among chess fans. Recently, Shubham Kumthekar caught up with him for a brief interview, attempting to know his thoughts on the current situation of the chess world. They also ventured into some lesser-known aspects of being a top chess player and went on to discuss his prominence on social media. These discussions were followed by our trademark blitzkrieg segment, wherein Anish revealed his favourite among the current crop of players! Read on to know more!
Shubham Kumthekar: The Candidates tournament was stopped, we had a lull, and then a boom followed in online chess. How do you find the current situation of the chess world during the pandemic? Are you enjoying the online revolution?
Anish Giri: It seems odd to me to put the words pandemic and enjoying into the same sentence, but certainly, professional chess players are very fortunate in that we are able to continue pursuing our work and passion despite all the restrictions that are in place due to this unfortunate situation. There are a lot of opportunities to enjoy chess online and connect to the fans of the game, all this while staying at home! The efforts of chess platforms and organizations such as Magnus’s company – Chess24, FIDE, Chess.com, Lichess and many others are to thank for that.
What do you make of the idea of more events going online once things normalize?
There has already been a clear growth in online chess before the Covid-19 situation left us with no choice. For example, the Speed Chess Championship and the Pro Chess League on Chess.com and the Banter Blitz Cup on Chess24 have attracted quite some star players and garnered the attention of the chess fans. This trend is natural and is likely to continue, but it would also be good to get back the real-life social aspect and the wooden chess pieces as well!
How do you think should chess players, organizers, and playing servers adapt during the current situation?
I am very happy to see that the chess platforms and organizations are extremely dynamic and open-minded right now. I also saw most of my colleagues adapt one way or the other, and although everyone has to find his way, be it playing online, online coaching, streaming or content producing, I am sure there are possibilities for most of us to make good use of our free time. That said, with things reopening here and there, I would guess most people expect this situation to be rather temporary and the normal chess life will resume in due time.
What do you personally prefer – online chess or over-the-board chess?
There are obvious plusses and minuses to both. Over-the-board is definitely taken more seriously by the professionals. Making a move online has less of a feeling of responsibility to it, a bit like doing online shopping. However, staring at the screen is probably less pleasant than looking at the wooden chess set. Although at tournaments one is prone to missing his family, it is easier to get into a more competitive mode at these events with full focus.
Coming to more personal topics, I have always enjoyed your sense of humor! What can you tell us about it? Does it come naturally to you?
Come naturally? No, my humor is a lot of hard work and dedication. (Editor: Folks, that’s Anish for you!)
This was his reaction after his win over Kirill Alekseenko in
Round 6 of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2020.
(Original Anish’s photo credits: FIDE)
You are also super active on social media platforms… How do you manage to dabble regularly on social media and still stay focused on chess?
I have absolutely no illusions that top chess players, or in fact any top professionals, are just like other people and they need their relaxing moments. Social media is my way of doing that. I enjoy engaging with my colleagues and chess fans and sharing my passion for the game. At the same time, I am also happy to hear that it helps contribute to bringing our game to more people. I believe it is great that now a chess fan not only has some good moves and games to enjoy but also gets some chess action via social media. Sometimes in the pursuit of entertainment and humor, I may appear to be flirting with the red line, but believe me it is all in good spirits and so far, I feel I have never crossed the line!
What does a normal day in the life of Anish Giri look like?
I am not sure how to define normal – obviously my days at a tournament, at a training session or at home are very different. But any day includes a lot of chess. Fresh air is also essential!
In terms of working on chess, what does a Super GM generally work on apart from his openings?
Most top players indeed work on the openings, although it is not an entirely correct way of phrasing it. In fact, it is work on the middlegames and endgames that arise from openings relevant to your repertoire. At this level, all players are aware of the first ten moves and the analysis goes far into the middlegame and sometimes endgames. Besides that, many enjoy playing online, nowadays of course more than before. But even earlier, you had the online diehards who would spend day and night playing blitz and bullet games. Next to that, I and most of my colleagues I know enjoy solving a good study and of course following other tournaments.
In general, how easy or tough is it to manage a family life alongside an active chess career?
I wouldn’t say I ‘manage’ a family, that’s probably a good way to describe what my wife does. I am very happy to spend time with my wife and my son, that is one positive thing that the stay-home situation brought us. That said, I do spend an enormous amount of time on chess and that is only possible with full support from my family.
Blitzkrieg
Your favourite currently active chess player…
Magnus Carlsen!
First tourist destination you would visit post the pandemic…
Wijk aan Zee
A non-chess personality who inspires you…
My parents
A quote that you live by…
“If you are facing in the right direction, all you need to do is to keep on walking.”