Anish Giri: The Draw Artist?
Anish Giri: The Draw Artist?
In the pantheon of Candidates Tournament lore, few performances are as paradoxical as Anish Giri’s 2016 campaign in Moscow. Fourteen rounds. Fourteen draws. Zero losses. He left the tournament undefeated – and finished fifth. The result cemented his reputation as the ultimate positional player, a grandmaster who could neutralise anyone but, some whispered, could not defeat enough of them. Nine years later, Giri arrives in Cyprus for his third Candidates appearance. He is older, wiser, and, by his own admission, no longer afraid of losing. But to finally reach the world championship, he must solve the riddle that has defined his career: how to turn solidity into victory.
The 2016 Candidates in Moscow was a brutal affair. Sergey Karjakin would eventually win the tournament and go on to challenge Magnus Carlsen. But it was Giri who captured the chess world’s imagination – and its criticism. He became the first player in Candidates history to draw every game. “I played solid chess, I never took unnecessary risks,” he said afterwards. “But I also didn’t win a single game. That’s not enough.”
The statistic that haunted him was simple: among the eight players, only he finished without a loss, yet five others scored more points. The lesson was painful. In the Candidates, draws are currency, but victories are gold. Without them, you cannot climb the summit.
— Anish Giri, after the 2016 Candidates
Giri took the lesson to heart. In the years that followed, he worked to expand his repertoire, adding sharper openings and learning to press in positions where his younger self would have settled for a draw. The results came slowly. He won the 2023 Tata Steel Masters – the first Dutch winner since Jan Timman in 1985. In 2025, he won the FIDE Grand Swiss in the Isle of Man, securing automatic qualification for Cyprus. His style had not abandoned its positional roots, but it had become more flexible, more willing to take calculated risks.
“I used to be afraid of losing,” he said after the Grand Swiss. “Now I’m more afraid of not trying.” The statement marked a shift. Giri, now 31 and a father of three, had found a new balance between caution and ambition.
| Year | Location | Points | Place | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Moscow | 7/14 | 5th | 0 |
| 2022 | Madrid | 6.5/14 | 6th | 2 |
| 2026 | Cyprus | — | — | — |
His second appearance in Madrid (2022) showed improvement: two wins, a more aggressive approach, though still not enough to challenge for the top. Now, with a Grand Swiss title under his belt, he arrives in Cyprus with renewed confidence.
Cyprus will test that balance. The field is younger and more aggressive than any in recent memory. Javokhir Sindarov, 20, plays sacrificial attacks. R Praggnanandhaa, also 20, has beaten Carlsen and Caruana with black. Wei Yi, 26, is a natural attacker. For Giri, the temptation will be to fall back on his defensive mastery – to avoid losing, to accumulate half‑points, to hope that others falter. But history warns against that approach. Since 2013, the Candidates winner has averaged 5.5 wins. Giri’s 2016 performance produced none.
Giri’s preparation for Cyprus has been intense. He has worked with his long‑time coach, Vladimir Tukmakov, and brought in additional seconds to sharpen his opening repertoire. He has also studied the young guns carefully. “They are fearless,” he admitted in a recent interview. “But they are also inexperienced in a fourteen‑round grind. That’s where I have an advantage.”
— Anish Giri, on the young contenders
Opinions on Giri’s chances are divided. Maxime Vachier‑Lagrave placed him in “Tier A” – just below Caruana but ahead of most of the field. Magnus Carlsen, ever blunt, noted that “Anish is capable of beating anyone on his day, but the question is whether he can do it three or four times in a tournament this tough.” Ian Nepomniachtchi, a two‑time Candidates winner, said: “He is the hardest player to beat. But to win, you have to beat people. That’s the challenge.”
Giri’s former rival, Wesley So, offered a more optimistic view: “If Anish decides to go for it, he has the preparation and the technique to beat anyone. The question is mental. He has to believe that he belongs at the top of the table, not just in the middle.”
The paradox of Giri is that his greatest strength – his ability to avoid defeat – may also be his greatest limitation. In a double round‑robin, a loss is not fatal. Carlsen lost in 2013 and still won. Giri’s 2016 approach was statistically safer, yet it failed. The lesson is that the Candidates rewards those who take calculated risks at the right moments.
Giri seems to understand this. “I’m not going to play recklessly,” he said. “But if a chance comes, I will take it. I’ve learned that a draw is not a success. It’s just a half‑point.”
— Anish Giri
If Giri wins the Candidates, he would become the first Dutch world championship challenger since Jan Timman in 1993. He would silence the critics who have labelled him “Mr. Draw.” And he would prove that a player who once went fourteen games without a victory can, with evolution and courage, conquer the most difficult tournament in chess.
For Giri, Cyprus is not just another tournament. It is the culmination of a decade of refinement. He has the skill, the experience, and – perhaps most importantly – the mindset to finally break through. The question is whether he can summon the wins when they matter most.
On 29 March, when Giri sits down at the board, the memory of Moscow 2016 will be there, but so will the lessons of nine subsequent years. He has evolved from the boy who was afraid to lose into a man who is no longer afraid to try. In a tournament that rewards both caution and courage, that transformation may finally be enough.
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