Anish Giri Fights for World Championship

Anish Giri is fighting to become world champion, driven by his experience and defensive skills.

Giri's motivation stems from not having won everything, unlike his peer Magnus Carlsen.

He tells ESPN that his chances of being world champion now aren't any lower than they were back then.

Chess has been changing very quickly, with the emergence of computers altering the game.

Giri maintains his confidence despite these changes, citing his performance at the 2025 Sharjah Masters.

He beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov to win the title, showcasing his skills.

Giri will assess his standing in the chess world after the qualification process for the 2026 Candidates tournament ends.

He says if his career ended today, he would be happy with what he has achieved, but wants to give the world championship another shot.

Giri's experience is now at a stage where he can compete against all his opponents.

He recognizes mistakes in his younger opponents' games, giving him an edge.

And his chess understanding is still strong, allowing him to play at a high level.

But the challenge for him now is to overcome the younger generation of players, including Gukesh Dommaraju and R Praggnanandhaa.

So Giri is banking on his experience to help him succeed.

He has been one of the nearly-men of chess for almost a decade, but is not willing to give up yet.

Giri had qualified for the Candidates tournament in 2016 and 2021, and was universally accepted as one of the best players in the world.

His ELO was more than 2800 in classical chess 10 years ago.