There’s a new king in the castle

Anish Giri, 21, who recently beat India’s Vishy Anand, is the new name to watch out for in the game

Towards the very end of October, Indian chess genius Viswanathan Anand found himself in a spot of trouble. The 45-year-old was playing a man half his age at the fourth round of the Bilbao Masters Final chess tournament in the very picturesque Spanish city. It was move 11, and Anand had made a blunder or, what Anish Giri sportingly describes as “an oversight.”

“I introduced a new idea as early as move 10. His response was very natural and it took me by surprise. For a second I was cursing myself for overlooking this response during my preparation for the game, but I soon realised that his move was in fact, a major oversight. Due to a nice geometrical motive, I won a pawn and Anand didn’t have his best day after that either. He did put up some resistance but lost on time in a nearly hopeless position, although there was a small chance that he would be able to setup a fortress — Anand’s favourite defensive mechanism,” the super champ Giri said in an email interview with the Deccan Chronicle.

All this from a guy who has been playing chess since the age of seven. Born to a Nepalese father and a Russian mother, Dutchman Anish Giri was responsible for one of the biggest upsets on the chess calendar this year. It’s not easy beating Anand. After all, he’s been champion of the world five times. And Giri is obviously, a little pleased.

“This is my first win against Vishy Anand and I was obviously very pleased with that. Anand keeps competing at the very highest level so, I hope this is the first of the victories to come,” says Anish.

Born in St Petersburg, Anish achieved Grandmaster status at the age of 14 — around the same time most boys discover they’re tall enough to scale the school’s wall. He went on to become a four-time Dutch Chess Champion and represented the Netherlands at three Chess Olympiads (2010, 2012, 2014).

“I started chess around the age of seven. I was inspired by the game, but soon legends like Kasparov, Karpov, Fischer, Anand and many other world champions captivated me,” says Giri.

But the year has been interesting for Giri away from the board too. On July 18, he married Sopiko Guramishvili — a Georgian chess player and winner of the 2009 Woman Grandmaster title. It was hailed as the ‘Chess wedding’ of the year, and the two have now settled down in The Hague since. Chess though, keeps him busy.

“Spending most of my time on chess there is not much else I can be much good at but I enjoy spending time with my wife, parents, siblings and friends, listening to music, some sports, the Web and well... the usual stuff. My father and mother both studied water resources (river research), but while my father pursued an academic career (he is a PhD holder, and currently engaged in a river-related project in Delft — a city in the Netherlands), my mother is a housewife — raising me and two of my younger sisters (they’re in school). This year, I got married and live with my wife in The Hague. My parents and sisters live in Rijswijk, a lovely town nearby,” expains Anish.

The man whose moves on the chess board have flummoxed many also likes psychology, humour and languages — he’s fluent in Russian, English, Dutch and his website claims he’s moderately proficient in Japanese, Nepali and German.

The young master likes hanging out with peers — because as chess geniuses go, there’s no dudes... only sparring partners. And Norwegian Magnus Carlsen is one.

“He is a very honest young man, gifted at chess. He can be quite different depending on his mood and people around him. I don’t work together with him, I see him as the ultimate rival, if you wish. Occasionally, we exchange some nasty remarks in interviews, but I remain positive. I’m yet to achieve what he has already achieved in our game,” says Giri.

So for now, it’s looking at the greatest possible heights in the game Gary Kasparov famously called, “mental torture.” There are hundreds of matches ahead and grandmasters to beat — Giri seems to have set his sights on all of them although, there’s no 10-year-plan, and the champ wishes to take it easy.

“I barely know what my plans are for tomorrow, but I hope chess will remain a major part of my life,” he ends.