All posts tagged: Anish Giri

Ian Nepomniachtchi says Praggnanandhaa became ‘completely different chess player after losing to Javokhir Sindarov’ | Chess News

Ian Nepomniachtchi says Praggnanandhaa became ‘completely different chess player after losing to Javokhir Sindarov’ | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Apr 20, 2026 10:25 PM IST Two-time World Chess Championship contender Ian Nepomniachtchi has said that India’s R Praggnanandhaa, who ended seventh in the recent Candidates tournament, became a “completely different” chess player after losing his game to eventual tournament winner Javokhir Sindarov. One of the pre-tournament favourites, Pragg eventually managed to win just one game in 14 rounds. “Despite the fact that he won a very good game against Anish Giri in the first round, the tournament didn’t go well for him. Why? Because he lost to Sindarov. After that, it was as if he became a completely different chess player. He seemed to be trying to put up a fight with both white and black. He changed openings like gloves, playing extremely risky schemes, but in the second half of the tournament, his luck ran out,” Nepomniachtchi said on his YouTube channel while analysing the Candidates. Nepo continued: “Pragg failed to win two completely winning positions—I believe against Wei Yi and Matthias Bluebaum, each was around +4 or more. Against …

Anish Giri says currently Javokhir Sindarov looks ‘faster and better prepped than Gukesh’ | Chess News

Anish Giri says currently Javokhir Sindarov looks ‘faster and better prepped than Gukesh’ | Chess News

Published by Webster

4 min readApr 15, 2026 05:11 PM IST With a draw in the penultimate round against Javokhir Sindarov, Anish Giri’s chances of winning the Candidates tournament ended on Tuesday night. Sindarov, a 20-year-old grandmaster from Uzbekistan, has managed to remain undefeated in one of the most cut-throat tournaments on the chess calendar to secure a battle for the world championship crown against India’s D Gukesh. When Giri was asked who he thought would prevail in the World Chess Championship battle between Gukesh and Sindarov at the end of this year, the Dutch grandmaster said that on current form, Sindarov looked “faster and better prepped than Gukesh”. However, he cautioned against making hasty conclusions. “To be fair, the poor guy (Sindarov) was in a situation facing me where both times he was just fine with the draw, so I didn’t get to witness him in his full glory. But the way he plays right now, he’s faster than Gukesh and he’s better prepped than Gukesh. Both calculate really well, but he just appears to be better,” …

Anish Giri’s witty self-praise after beating Fabiano Caruana in Candidates

Anish Giri’s witty self-praise after beating Fabiano Caruana in Candidates

Published by Webster

5 min readApr 9, 2026 07:14 PM IST Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri never fails to charm his way with his usual quick wit and humour. After beating American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in the ninth round of the Candidates Tournament, Anish moved into second place and within striking distance of the top spot, where Uzbek phenom Javokhir Sindarov has almost cemented his place with an extraordinary start to the event. Anish won his second game in a row after beating India’s R Praggnanandhaa in the eighth round. He now has 5.5 points from 9 rounds, 1.5 points behind Sindarov, who has seven points. When asked about his two back-to-back wins in the post-match press conference, Anish, with his usual quick wit, called himself “mini Sindarov.” “Two wins in a row! Mini Sindarov, yeah! It’s my own 50 percent version of Sindarov, I guess,” he said, referring to Sindarov’s four consecutive wins in the tournament. While analysing the game he won against Caruana, Anish repeatedly called himself lucky. When Grandmaster Maurice Ashley pointed this out, he said: …

Catch him if you can: Javokhir Sindarov lays down the marker at Candidates, with resounding win against Fabiano Caruana; Pragg plays out safe draw | Cricket News

Catch him if you can: Javokhir Sindarov lays down the marker at Candidates, with resounding win against Fabiano Caruana; Pragg plays out safe draw | Cricket News

Published by Webster

Javokhir Sindarov defies the very idea of a conventional chess player. He lacks the stoic composure of a Fabiano Caruana, doesn’t possess the sharp wit of a Hikaru Nakamura, and is far from the introverted nature of a Wei Yi. He exists as a complete anomaly. He’s the kind of player who will happily lean into someone else’s analysis, buzzing with energy, always smiling but invariably ready to fight over the board. He is the quintessential new-age chess star. After taking down India’s lone hope, R Praggnanandhaa, in the third round while doing so with the black pieces, the newly minted World Cup winner delivered another statement performance on Wednesday, dismantling one of the event’s most experienced favourites, Caruana, in the fourth round. A few months ago at the FIDE World Cup in Goa, Sindarov captured the hearts of chess fans with his dynamic style, sparkling quality of play, and irrepressible charm. Now, he is hogging the spotlight in Cyprus, tearing through a formidable field and storming to such a dominant start at the Candidates …

Catch him if you can: Javokhir Sindarov lays down the marker at Candidates, with resounding win against Fabiano Caruana; Pragg plays out safe draw | Cricket News

Javokhir Sindarov lays down the marker at Candidates, with resounding win against Fabiano Caruana; Pragg plays out safe draw

Published by Webster

Javokhir Sindarov defies the very idea of a conventional chess player. He lacks the stoic composure of a Fabiano Caruana, doesn’t possess the sharp wit of a Hikaru Nakamura, and is far from the introverted nature of a Wei Yi. He exists as a complete anomaly. He’s the kind of player who will happily lean into someone else’s analysis, buzzing with energy, always smiling but invariably ready to fight over the board. He is the quintessential new-age chess star. After taking down India’s lone hope, R Praggnanandhaa, in the third round while doing so with the black pieces, the newly minted World Cup winner delivered another statement performance on Wednesday, dismantling one of the event’s most experienced favourites, Caruana, in the fourth round. A few months ago at the FIDE World Cup in Goa, Sindarov captured the hearts of chess fans with his dynamic style, sparkling quality of play, and irrepressible charm. Now, he is hogging the spotlight in Cyprus, tearing through a formidable field and storming to such a dominant start at the Candidates …

What is the ‘Grand Prix’ attack that helped R Praggnanandhaa defeat Anish Giri? ‘Playable line and took my opponent out of theory’ | Cricket News

What is the ‘Grand Prix’ attack that helped R Praggnanandhaa defeat Anish Giri? ‘Playable line and took my opponent out of theory’ | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 30, 2026 04:15 PM IST It was a rare pawn attack, and a rather unexpected line that surprised Anish Giri in his opener against R Praggnanandhaa as the Indian took a whole 1 point on Day 1 at the Candidates at Cyprus. Chess.com dubbed the win induced by the Grand Prix Attack – an aggressive variant of the Sicilian Defence – as the cleanest win of the day, with Pragg playing with white. The idea of the Grand Prix Attack was to keep attacking the Black’s King with an early f-pawn push, and an eventual long castle by Giri saw him walk right into the trap, after positions had looked fairly equal. Said to have originated in 1800 in London, chessdoctrine.com, cites two instances of the Grand Prix leading to a sharp situation: one involving Pragg in 2021 against Aryan Tari. Another dates back to Anand vs Kasparov in 1994. It is said to throw up 38 % wins for Black as against 26 % for white, though in amateurs its 49 …

What is the ‘Grand Prix’ attack that helped R Praggnanandhaa defeat Anish Giri? ‘Playable line and took my opponent out of theory’ | Cricket News

What is the ‘Grand Prix’ attack that helped R Praggnanandhaa defeat Anish Giri? ‘Playable line and took my opponent out of theory’ | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Mar 30, 2026 05:18 PM IST It was a rare pawn attack, and a rather unexpected line that surprised Anish Giri in his opener against R Praggnanandhaa as the Indian took a whole 1 point on Day 1 at the Candidates at Cyprus. Chess.com dubbed the win induced by the Grand Prix Attack – an aggressive variant of the Sicilian Defence – as the cleanest win of the day, with Pragg playing with white. The idea of the Grand Prix Attack was to keep attacking the Black’s King with an early f-pawn push, and an eventual long castle by Giri saw him walk right into the trap, after positions had looked fairly equal. Said to have originated in 1800 in London, chessdoctrine.com, cites two instances of the Grand Prix leading to a sharp situation: one involving Pragg in 2021 against Aryan Tari. Another dates back to Anand vs Kasparov in 1994. It is said to throw up 38 % wins for Black as against 26 % for white, though in amateurs its …

What is the ‘Grand Prix’ attack that helped R Praggnanandhaa defeat Anish Giri? ‘Playable line and took my opponent out of theory’ | Cricket News

What is the ‘Grand Prix’ attack that helped R Praggnanandhaa defeat Anish Giri? ‘Playable line and took my opponent out of theory’ | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Mar 30, 2026 05:18 PM IST It was a rare pawn attack, and a rather unexpected line that surprised Anish Giri in his opener against R Praggnanandhaa as the Indian took a whole 1 point on Day 1 at the Candidates at Cyprus. Chess.com dubbed the win induced by the Grand Prix Attack – an aggressive variant of the Sicilian Defence – as the cleanest win of the day, with Pragg playing with white. The idea of the Grand Prix Attack was to keep attacking the Black’s King with an early f-pawn push, and an eventual long castle by Giri saw him walk right into the trap, after positions had looked fairly equal. Said to have originated in 1800 in London, chessdoctrine.com, cites two instances of the Grand Prix leading to a sharp situation: one involving Pragg in 2021 against Aryan Tari. Another dates back to Anand vs Kasparov in 1994. It is said to throw up 38 % wins for Black as against 26 % for white, though in amateurs its …

R Praggnanandhaa in lead after round 1

R Praggnanandhaa in lead after round 1

Published by Webster

Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa opened his Candidates campaign in style on the opening day of the FIDE Candidates 2026 in Cyprus on Sunday. R Praggnanandhaa stunned the higher-ranked Anish Giri to share the lead with Fabiano Caruana and Javokhir Sindarov as three of four games ended with decisive results. Javokhir Sindarov beat Andrey Esipenko and Fabiano Caruana overcame Hikaru Nakamura to register early wins. The game between Matthias Bluebaum and Wei Yi ended in a draw. The tournament will determine the challenger for the World Championship. R Praggnanandhaa opted for a rare choice of the Grand Prix Attack to catch Anish Giri by surprise. The Indian grandmaster went on to convert his advantage with excellent technique in the rook ending. “I think this line is playable and takes my opponent out of theory,” Praggnanandhaa explained to FIDE after the game. Vaishali, Divya draw In the Women’s FIDE Candidates Tournament, all four games ended in draws. Divya Deshmukh and Vaishali Rameshbabu drew their respective games and collected half points each. The Vaishali vs Assaubayeva game was …

R Praggnanandhaa in lead after round 1

R Praggnanandhaa in lead after round 1

Published by Webster

Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa opened his Candidates campaign in style on the opening day of the FIDE Candidates 2026 in Cyprus on Sunday. R Praggnanandhaa stunned the higher-ranked Anish Giri to share the lead with Fabiano Caruana and Javokhir Sindarov as three of four games ended with decisive results. Javokhir Sindarov beat Andrey Esipenko and Fabiano Caruana overcame Hikaru Nakamura to register early wins. The game between Matthias Bluebaum and Wei Yi ended in a draw. The tournament will determine the challenger for the World Championship. R Praggnanandhaa opted for a rare choice of the Grand Prix Attack to catch Anish Giri by surprise. The Indian grandmaster went on to convert his advantage with excellent technique in the rook ending. “I think this line is playable and takes my opponent out of theory,” Praggnanandhaa explained to FIDE after the game. Vaishali, Divya draw In the Women’s FIDE Candidates Tournament, all four games ended in draws. Divya Deshmukh and Vaishali Rameshbabu drew their respective games and collected half points each. The Vaishali vs Assaubayeva game was …