Anish Giri: Uncertainties in games at Global Chess League is great for the sport

Anish Giri missed out last edition of the Global Chess League due to his schedule but is delighted he could participate in this season.

Anish Giri missed out last edition of the Global Chess League due to his schedule but is delighted he could participate in this season.  | Photo Credit: Global Chess League

Grandmaster Arkadij Naiditsch once said that beating Magnus Carlsen was easier than beating Anish Giri. The modest Super Grandmaster from the Netherlands may disagree with that assessment, but his team remains unbeatable at the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League.

The PBG Alaskan Knights has won all five of its matches so far. Giri looked rather pleased at Friends House when he spoke about how exciting chess has been in the league. He missed out last edition due to his schedule but is delighted he could participate in this season. “Everything is great about the league,” Giri told Sportstar.

“We may be playing less chess in a day compared to other rapid and blitz tournaments, but I am okay with it. You can’t prepare much because the colour of your pieces is decided by a toss. So, there is a lot of uncertainty, which is great for sport.”

READ | Global Chess League 2024: Carlsen’s win in vain as PBG Alaskan Knights edges past Alpine SG Pipers

He feels this year’s new time control—doing away with the increment that gives added time for the moves a player makes—has also made the games more exciting towards the end. “Last year too, we saw a lot of thrilling chess, as there were multiple Armageddons, and the final was just spectacular,” said the World No. 20. “This season, I feel we have one of the best teams, and there have been some great performances by our players, especially Nihal Sarin and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Regarding Nihal, he thinks the youngster has the potential to perform much better in classical chess. “He is a tremendous talent, and possibly in some areas of the game, he is more gifted than all the other (Indian) kids,” Giri said. “He is extremely tactical and excels in rapid and blitz, but classical chess is different, and there are certain areas where he has to catch up significantly.”

Looking forward to the upcoming World title match, Giri believes D. Gukesh is the favourite against Ding Liren. “I will be surprised if Gukesh doesn’t win,” he said. “Everything points toward him, including the form of both players.”

(The correspondent is in London at the invitation of Tech Mahindra)