Chess History in a Nutshell 112 – Dutch Star: Anish Giri

Anish Kumar Giri (born June 28, 1994) is a Russian-born Dutch chess grandmaster. He has a Russian mother and a Nepalese father, and the family eventually settled in the Netherlands. A child prodigy, Giri earned the grandmaster title in 2009 at the age of 14 years, 7 months, and 2 days.

He is a five-time Dutch champion (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2023) and has represented the Netherlands in seven Chess Olympiads (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2024). Since moving from Russia in 2009, Giri has been the undisputed No. 1 in the Dutch rankings.

Giri has claimed victories in major international tournaments, most notably the 2023 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, where he defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov on the final day. This win made him the fourth Dutch player since 1968 (after Gennadi Sosonko, Jan Timman, and Jorden van Foreest) to do so, and the 14th Dutch winner overall.

As a junior, Giri progressed rapidly—his rating soared from 2114 in April 2006 to 2672 by July 2010. He trained with Vladimir Chuchelov from 2009 to 2012, resuming their collaboration in 2017. Between 2013 and 2016, he also worked with legendary grandmaster Vladimir Tukmakov.

In both October 2015 and January 2016, Giri reached an impressive peak rating of 2798, briefly climbing to second place in the world rankings. Although he never officially broke into the 2800 club on the FIDE rating list, he did achieve a live rating over 2800 in February 2015, following a victory over Russian grandmaster Peter Svidler at the FIDE Grand Prix in Tbilisi.

In May 2010, it was revealed that Giri assisted Viswanathan Anand in preparing for the World Chess Championship match against Veselin Topalov. Anand won the match 6½–5½ and retained his world title.

In his 2011 Tata Steel Masters debut, Giri scored 6½/13, including a stunning 22-move win over Magnus Carlsen with the black pieces. Following several other strong performances, he finally qualified for the 2016 Candidates Tournament in Moscow.

In 2018, Giri tied for first in the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee with Magnus Carlsen but lost in the tiebreak. He competed again in the Candidates Tournament in 2020, which was halted after one round due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With airspace closures looming, players had to leave the event abruptly. When the tournament resumed in 2021 under strict conditions, Giri finished in shared third place. However, he redeemed himself that year by winning the online “Magnus Carlsen Invitational,” defeating Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final.

In January 2022, Giri again tied for first—this time with Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest—but lost in the tiebreak, handing the win to his younger compatriot. In 2023, he finally captured the prestigious title outright. The tournament was especially memorable as Giri defeated Magnus Carlsen again in a classical game—his first such win against Carlsen in 12 years. To top it off, he also defeated Chinese star Ding Liren in the same event—who would go on to become world champion later that year.

Giri also had his revenge against Jorden van Foreest, defeating him in the tiebreak final of the knockout Dutch Championship.

Giri’s style is often described as “solid and conservative,” which makes him incredibly difficult to beat, though it sometimes results in missed opportunities to defeat other top players. Still, his peers acknowledge his strength. Czech grandmaster Arkady Naiditsch once remarked that beating world number one Magnus Carlsen is sometimes easier than beating Giri.

Giri is renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge of chess, particularly in the opening phase.

In a position with significantly reduced material—where at first glance a draw might seem within reach for Black—White is able to artfully force a win. The black king is brilliantly trapped in a mating net.

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