Anish Giri, 31 years old and newly qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, has been a super grandmaster for 14 (!) years and regularly supplies the CBM with top-class analyses. In this issue, the Dutchman examines eight games from top tournaments, a real treat for the discerning chess fan. We hope you enjoy!
Three encounters from the Prague Masters:
Unprotected rim knight on a5 - with 21.Qd2! (idea 21...Nc6 22.Ne5!) White sealed the deal in Praggnanandhaa,R - Nguyen,T 1-0.
After 21...Rxb3!, things quickly became uncomfortable for the white king on the light squares in Shankland,S - Giri,A 0-1.
In the King's Indian thriller Giri,A - Praggnanandhaa,R 1-0, White took the winning path with 28.Bxf7+!.
One from the Sharjah Masters:
28.c4? - "I had the feeling he was treating the position like a middlegame, even though it was actually an endgame." After 28...dxc4! 29.bxc4 b4! in Zemlyanskii,I - Giri,A 0-1, Black's outside passed pawns were much more dangerous than White's central dominance.
Two games from Norway Chess:
After 30.Qe1!, White was winning, but much more was to happen in the "epic duel" Erigaisi,A - Gukesh,D 1-0 ...
Black's only real mistake in Caruana,F - Erigaisi,A 1-0 was 24...Nd2? (24...Nf6!).
And finally, two encounters from the Chennai Quantbox.
The crucial point in Liang,A - Keymer,V 0-1 was 19.Qb3?? (19.exf5!), which allowed the constriction 19...f4!.
The crowning glory, the Dutch duel Van Foreest,J - Giri,A 0-1 - incredible complications, and all in extreme time pressure!