Anish not perturbed with the sequence of draws

: Anish Giri is known to play solid chess with a tight technique and has a reputation for being a ‘drawish’ player. His 14-draw performance at the Candidates tournament in 2016 saw him being dubbed as a player with a penchant for splitting the point.

The 31-year-old Dutchman, once ranked No. 3 in the world, has lived up to that ‘reputation’ at the ongoing Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters tournament, so to speak. Though drawing all his seven games here, Anish doesn’t seem too worked up about it.

“Slightly crazy games, but not decisive. I am actually lucky that I have all draws, because I had one chance against V. Pranav that I ruined it in one move.

“Otherwise, I was on the verge of defeat two times and was very lucky not to lose to Nihal (Sarin) and Vidit (Gujrathi),” he said during an interaction on Wednesday.

“But I think, you know, you have to be very patient in these tournaments. Of course, winning is no longer possible…but still the difference between a good and bad tournament can be one game,” said Anish.

“If you win one game, it’s fine. If you lose one game, it’s bad. The margins are so small in these kind of tournaments.”

Mental strain

Asked if playing back-to-back Classical games, like in this tournament, was tough, he said, “I don’t think it’s physically tough, but mentally yes…”

The seasoned GM was all praise for German Vincent Keymer, who has been in impressive form in the tournament, and said he is one of the many contenders for the top prize in the sport (World championship).

Praise for Indians

Indian GMs R. Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi and Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov among others could also be vying for top honours, he added.