Promise of greatness in Dutch chess prodigy
Published: 15 January 2010 17:18 | Changed: 15 January 2010 17:30
Anish Giri (15) is a man of few words. Do his classmates think he is weird for playing chess so much? No. Is he nervous about his upcoming tournament? No. Does he want to become the best chess player in the world? Yes.
He can be somewhat shy, his mother Olga explained when NRC Handelsblad visited the Giri home in Rijswijk.
But he does not seem shy in the least if you ask him what his favourite opening is. He laughs in your face.
“I am not going to tell you that,” he scoffs. “They might be translating this newspaper!” [Indeed – ed.]
The great hope for Dutch chess
The Dutch chess community is brimming with anticipation. Giri, a Russian native, has lived in Rijswijk for two years and is registered as a Dutch national with the international chess federation FIDE. He just might be the next Dutch superstar. He became a grandmaster at the tender age of 14, shattering the former record. In September, he became the youngest player ever to win the Dutch chess championship. The Dutch Chess Federation hopes Anish’s success will draw new, young players to the game. Dutch clubs are having a hard time attracting new members. Many players feel Giri is a gift from the gods.
According to the Dutch grandmaster and four-time national champion Hans Ree, Giri is a rare talent indeed. “Tactical insight is common in young players,” he said. “Patience is not. But Giri has it.”
At last year’s Corus tournament, Giri gave a stunning demonstration of the former quality. The English grandmaster, John Nunn, reigning world champion of chess puzzle-solving, was visiting the tournament when the Armenian, Levon Aronian, decided to throw him a nice challenge of his own making: white to move, mate in three. He jotted the position on a slip of paper, and Nunn set up the pieces. It turned out to be a tough challenge indeed. Metres away, Anish cast a glance at the board. Twenty second later, he spoke. “The position is wrong. There are too many solutions,” he said, quickly rattling off a few. Giri was right. Aronian had forgotten to note a pawn when he wrote down the position.
Anish’s working routine
The adulation has left Anish unfazed. “I don’t really care about other people’s expectations,” he said. “Not that I find it annoying or anything, but I don’t want people to think, like, that I am good.” For Anish, chess is mostly fun. Why? Anish shrugs. It just is.
Back to openings: Anish studies them using Chessbase, a database containing 4 million games, as he was more than happy to demonstrate seated behind his laptop in his attic. He prefers discussing his game with a chessboard handy.
Anish usually studies games between players boasting ratings in the 2,600s. He himself is currently rated 2,588 by the FIDE, well over the grandmaster cut-off point of 2,500. The highest-rated player in the world, 19-year old Magnus Carlsen, stands at a lonely 2.810 points.
Pieces flew over the virtual board as Anish clicked his way through a game. Chessbase allows him either to stick with a past game as it was played, or diverge from it by introducing new moves. The computer then helps out by suggesting possible follow-up moves. But it is not always right, Anish said. Its suggestions can be bland or too risky. Only recently did Anish start practicing with a coach.
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He’ll be better than Carlsen but a little worse than Nakamura.
Is he really better than Carlsen?