Viswanathan Anand dissuades specialisation as chess deals with multiple formats, packed schedule
Over the last month, Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has played three top-level tournaments, across three vastly different formats – freestyle at the Las Vegas Grand Slam, rapid at the Esports World Cup and classical right now at the Chennai Grand Masters 2025.
Erigaisi’s experience isn’t an uncommon one. With a packed schedule where multiple formats are vying for relevance, chess players are rarely granted much turnaround time, raising questions about the need for specialisation.
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand, speaking at the Chennai Grand Masters 2025 here on Sunday, suggested that players shouldn’t consider narrowing their focus to just one format.
“Probably the simplest way to say it is that they shouldn’t rule out any format mentally. In a sense, you will probably not have good results in all the formats every year. But I don’t think you are assured of one format either,” said Anand.
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has played three top-level tournaments across three different formats over the last month.
| Photo Credit:
VELANKANNI RAJ B/ The Hindu
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has played three top-level tournaments across three different formats over the last month.
| Photo Credit:
VELANKANNI RAJ B/ The Hindu
The 55-year-old propped up reigning world champion D Gukesh’s performance at the Romania leg of the Grand Chess Tour as an example of not placing all your eggs in one basket.
“Gukesh had a bad classical [tournament] in Romania, for instance. So, you should try to be competitive in all formats. Maybe you won’t succeed, but it’s worth it,” says Anand.
Anand also touched upon his experience in dealing with multiple formats and how he mentors the current generation in that aspect.
“We had other things too, I mean, all these formats were being introduced… that’s where it started. I remember we used to play all these tournaments. So, it’s just part of life.
With the new formats and things, the sport is evolving very fast. I think the only thing I can do is if they ask, I can describe how I face a certain situation, and then it would be their job to convert that into what they want to do. We are not comparing the same thing anymore,” adds Anand.
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin, considered one of the world’s best in speed chess, had a quirky analogy for the sport’s multi-format evolution.
“In a way, it is kind of like playing tennis on different surfaces. Yeah, just find a way to adapt and try,” said Sarin, who is competing at the Chennai Grand Masters.
For German GM Vincent Keymer, it is the transition between different time formats that is difficult.
“For freestyle, you just cannot prepare much. What is a little more difficult is to balance between rapid and blitz, and classical. This is because the opening repertoire and general play style are different for each of them. It is not easy to manage,” says Keymer.
Keymer believes at least a week is needed to switch from one time control to another. But a cursory look at the packed chess calendar would indicate that players are often not granted that luxury.