In this week’s episode of the New In Chess podcast, Anish Giri returns to give his take on the first half of the Candidates. Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, he candidly shares his assessment of the players so far.

0:00 – Intro

1:35 – Anish’s experience following the Candidates so far

2:57 – Alireza-Gukesh (round 7)

6:25 – Nepo’s performance so far, games against Pragg and Hikaru

14:13 – How many points does Anish think the winner will need?

16:18 – Fabiano’s performance so far

20:52 – Gukesh’s play

23:03 – Pragg’s crazy combinations

28:32 – Vidit-Pragg (round 3)

32:29 – Could this be Pragg’s tournament?

34:20 – Vidit’s play thus far, his early win against Hikaru

37:20 – Vidit’s “meditation”, other top players’ rituals before games

43:24 – AD BREAK

44:04 – Hikaru jumping right to YouTube after a game, even a loss

48:30 – Anish’s dislike of post-game press conferences, his preference for Hikaru’s approach

52:32 – Alireza’s tournament

58:33 – Who does Anish favour, halfway through the tournament

1:06:23 – The Women’s Candidates Tournament