Ep-33: Anish Giri FINALLY Did It! Grand Swiss 2025 Winners | R Vaishali Makes History | Chess Times

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Chess Times, a Chess Gaja podcast—your favorite quick stop for all things chess. I’m super excited to be here, and as always, I’ve got GM Priyadharshan with me. Priyadharshan, what a wild week it’s been—how are you feeling after all that Samarkand action?

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

I'm still a bit jet-lagged just thinking about it, honestly! But yes, what a rollercoaster. The FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand did not disappoint. I mean, Anish Giri—he finally did it, right? Took the top spot with eight points out of eleven, beating Niemann in the last round with such steady nerve. He’s finally secured his spot in the 2026 Candidates, which, you know, he’s been chasing for a while now.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Totally! And I feel like Giri’s always sort of the bridesmaid, never the bride when it comes to these nail-biter tournaments, so watching him actually convert at the finish line—oh man, that was satisfying. But I gotta say, the real plot twist for me was Matthias Blübaum. Like, seeded thirty-second and then—bam!—second place and punching his own ticket to the Candidates. Did you see any of his games?

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Yeah, actually, I did. It's funny, because I remember seeing him as an underdog and thinking, surely he won't keep it up, but he just kept winning critical games, and a lot of it came down to, you know, grabbing opportunities when they popped up. There was that one key game—I always mix up the round, was it round eight? Anyway, he pulled off this win from what seemed like a dead-equal position. It really shows how important persistence is, and yeah, a little luck helps.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Right, and then on the women’s side, R Vaishali made it look almost routine—like, didn’t she just win the Women’s Grand Swiss 2023 as well?

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

She did, yes! Vaishali scoring another 8/11, it’s her second back-to-back title—which is just incredible, honestly. And let’s not forget the significance—she’s now the third Indian woman ever to make it to the Candidates. That’s historic. Given how hard her year started in Chennai, this is such a statement of resilience.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Absolutely, and shoutout to Kateryna Lagno too, nabbing her own Candidates spot alongside Vaishali. But it’s wild seeing so many storylines wrapped up in one tournament—like, big favorites deliver, crazy runs from the underdogs, and then the pressure on the women’s circuit leveling up every year. It keeps things spicy.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Speaking of spicy, the young guns were on fire this week. Abhimanyu Mishra—everyone’s favorite trivia answer for “Who’s the youngest GM ever”—and Andy Woodward, both cracked the top ten. I mean, that’s not just a good showing, that’s like, hey world, American chess is having a serious moment.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Yeah, absolutely. And, like, with Abhimanyu, I’ve actually worked with him at youth camps. That hunger to just grind out games—it hasn't changed. But Andy Woodward, too, is right up there now. Seeing both of them finish with 7 out of 11, not just playing but actually competing for top spots, it kind of reminds me—this is gonna sound a little cliché, but sometimes you coach these kids… you see that glint, and you just know, "all right, they’re wired a bit differently."

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

And I love how what used to be, like, “Oh, you’re a teenager and you’re a GM, whoa!” is now, “Well, you’re ten, but are you solving puzzles blindfolded yet?” The bar keeps moving higher. Which, okay, swings us right to Magnus Carlsen, because, let's face it, whenever we talk about online chess, he just eats up every headline. He just won Chess.com’s Titled Tuesday for the second week straight. That’s, what, ten-and-a-half points out of eleven?

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Yep, and his only draw was against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, which is no shame. You know, Magnus—even though people say, "oh, he’s not defending his world title," it’s clear he’s still just… on another planet, at least online. It’s not just about the ratings or the prize money, it’s this relentless competitiveness. I’ve met him at tournaments, and trust me, that drive to win is always on—even in blitz, rapid, or casual games.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

For real. It’s like the title might change hands, but Carlsen’s dominance just keeps rolling, tournament after tournament, offline or online. And it loops back—these Abhimanyus and Andys are growing up seeing that standard. So, maybe next year or the one after, we’re gonna be talking about them breaking Carlsen’s records. Who knows?

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Yeah, absolutely. It makes coaching exciting! You never know who’s going to break through next. Sometimes I’ll be working with a six or seven year old, and you can just see them visualizing lines so fast, that—like, sometimes I have to double check the puzzle because they solve it before I’ve even finished explaining it! It takes me back to when these top talents now were just kids in the classroom, with that exact same spark.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Speaking of sparks, the youth chess scene was wild this week. I don’t even know how to describe this—ten-year-old Nara Devaansh set a world record by completing 175 checkmate puzzles in like, insane time. He was recognized by the World Book of Records in London. Ten years old! I was probably still getting stuck on the Scholar’s Mate at that age.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Yeah, it’s really inspiring. Nara’s speed and accuracy—those are the qualities you see in future grandmasters. And seeing him get global recognition, it shows how these achievements can put a spotlight on youth chess everywhere, not just India. I might be a bit biased, but it's hard not to get excited about the direction this is heading.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Exactly! And it’s not just the headline grabbers—back in India, we had the State Little Master and CG Blitz tournaments in Raipur. Loads of fresh faces, all these age categories battling it out, and then you’ve got standouts like Shrinika Reddy Goluguri and Prajwal Pandey coming out on top. It’s honestly so cool seeing that energy at the local level, right?

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Oh, absolutely. Those grassroots events are the real backbone for chess development. I see it every time I visit state tournaments—parents, young kids, all super invested. It’s these local wins that build confidence, that give kids a reason to grind out those extra puzzles at home. And let’s be honest, a lot of today’s grandmasters got their big start in local events just like these.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Yeah, and I think what’s so exciting is just… you know, it’s easy to talk about world champions and international headlines, but every big name started somewhere local, right? So nurturing talent at that level means the future’s only going to get brighter. Who knows, next year’s Champions might just be those names we mention in passing today.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Completely agree. I mean, the more opportunities these kids have, the better. Tournaments like the ones in Raipur are about giving them that first taste of success, and then letting them dream beyond their own city or state.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

And on that note, we’re gonna wrap up for today. Huge thank you for hanging out with us and getting your chess news fix! GM Priyadharshan, as always, thanks for sharing your insights straight from the front lines.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

My pleasure as always. These episodes never feel long enough, but I guess that’s why there’s always next week! Thanks for tuning in, everyone.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Couldn’t agree more. Keep your tactics sharp, chess fam. We’ll catch you guys for more big chess stories soon. Bye!

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Goodbye!