NIC Podcast #91: GM Anish Giri

Today’s podcast once again reaches you from Paphos, in Cyprus, where at the luxurious Cap Saint Georges hotel the Candidates tournament has come to an end after two weeks of excitement and captivating chess.

My guest is Anish Giri, one of the main protagonists in this gruelling battle to determine the challenger of World Champion Gukesh later this year. Anish was one of the pretournament favourites and one of the absolute stars of the 2026 Candidates, but in the end he, too, had to bow to the exceptional performance of the winner, twenty-year-old Javokhir Sindarov from Uzbekistan.

Anish finished in second place, one and a half points behind Sindarov’s phenomenal 10 out of 14, but one full point ahead of third place Fabiano Caruana, another clear pretournament favourite.
Of course, finishing second in such an elite field is a marvellous result – and it comes with a consolation prize of 130,000 euros - but it’s also the cruellest of results in a cutthroat competition where only first place really counts.

I talk with Anish about his mixed feelings and look back on the Candidates tournament from his perspective. And, of course, we talk about the definite breakthrough of Javokhir Sindarov, Fabiano Caruana’s failed attempt to qualify for another world championship match and more.
Such as the man behind Sindarov’s incredible success, new coaching star Roman Vidonyak, and Anish’s own new project, Chessmonitor.com!
Enjoy this episode, you don’t want to miss it!

0:00 – Intro

1:32 – Does Anish have mixed feelings at the end of this tournament?

5:35 – Not beating Wei Yi in the twelfth round

8:40 – Is Anish “not dangerous enough”?

14:35 – Fabiano Caruana’s performance

20:11 – AD BREAK

20:44 – The switch from increment to non-increment play

29:18 – Javokhir Sindarov

33:27 – Erdogmus

37:00 – The hidden coach: Roman Vidonyak

39:25 – Anish’s theory about Javokhir’s rise

45:33 – Modern chess training and coaching

58:30 – AD BREAK

59:50 – Untold: Chess Mates

1:02:20 – Anish’s venture with ChessMonitor

1:08:08 – Outro