By Saji Chacko | September 2025 Edition | Sports
Anish Giri is one of the premier chess players in the world right now. The 29-year-old Dutchman of semi-Indian origin has beaten all the leading lights, including five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen and reigning world champion Ding Liren (China). He has been a top ten player for close to six years.
Despite being born in Holland and being a thoroughbred Dutchman, Anish longs to visit India, from where, interestingly, his father hails, as he has heard a lot of tales about its exotic nature. More importantly, it’s also home to a host of world beaters, including the current world champion, D. Gukesh.
“India is known for its exotic locales and rich history, among other things. However, nowadays I know it’s in the news for the sheer amount of talented players it’s got in chess. It’s not just about world champion Gukesh. The sheer number of Indian players – be it Praggya, Erigasi, Vidyut Gujrathi, or Nihal Sareen. The Indian women seem to have taken a cue, as was evident in the manner Divya Deshmukh won the World Cup, defeating compatriot Koneru Humpy in the final. It’s just amazing as to how India is able to churn out top players—it’s almost like a conveyor system,” said Giri.
Anish also has another affinity towards India apart from his father’s Indian origin—for his closest friend on the tough and mean international chess circuit is Indian Vidit Gujrati.
Anish, who had a very close bond and friendship with Vidit Gujrathi. Gujrathi, who hails from Nasik, is one of India’s top chess teens, and the duo share a very healthy relationship.
“I and Vidit are more or less of the same age and started playing a lot of junior tournaments together. For some reason, we hit it off quite well and had quite good bonding. For some time, we started to travel together, and the bonding increased to a great extent. We are still the best of friends,” said Anish.
Anish was born in St Petersburg. Russia has been at the forefront of Dutch chess for nearly a decade now. His father, Sanjay, was in the health sector and was posted in Russia, where he met his future wife, Olga.
Anish has had a big connection with India’s best-ever chess player and three-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. He has been Anand’s second (training partner) for nearly two years. That experience which he gained while working with Anand was something which Anish treasures for a lifetime.
|”|I will cherish forever the time I had spent with Anand. Everything about him is so methodical and precise; I was very impressed by the manner in which he approaches the game. It’s like clockwork precision – something which was not my part of the game then,” he said.
Another aspect about Anand’s game which immensely appealed to Giri was the Indian’s lightning speed. “Anand does not seem to ponder or think about his moves. He makes his moves at lightning speed. That comes from someone who has such huge and wide knowledge of the game,” said Giri.
He also said that Anand was very perfect when it came to maintaining notes about his different opponents. He has noted down the strengths and weaknesses of each and every one of his opponents. That is something of an arduous and herculean task but also speaks volumes about the kind of organised player Vishy is,” said Anish.
Giri, who spent the initial 12 years of his life in Russia before moving on to the Netherlands, was candid that he learnt the basics of the game in Russia. “Russia was a superpower in chess for a long time, and the competition at the junior level there is phenomenal. There is no denying the fact that the competition at the junior level in Russia is very strong. One has to be really good to break into the top echelons in the Russian junior ranks. I feel the toughness of the Russian junior system has a big role in making me the chess player that I am today,” he said.
Surprisingly, for all his connections with Indian players, Anish has been to India just once. He admits that if and when he gets the time, he would love to travel to the country and have a firsthand experience of India and Indians.
“My knowledge about India is not much; it is all based on what I have heard from my Indian chess friends on the world circuit. On a couple of occasions I was supposed to compete in India. but had to withdraw at the last minute. “I will come over and spend time travelling the length and breadth of the country soon,” he said.
© The WFY Magazine | Saji Chacko | WFY Sports Desk |
Photo credits: https://anishgiriofficial.com/