Today my guest is one of the world’s top players and a 2026 Candidates participant — Anish Giri! We cover all the hottest topics: how Anish is preparing for the Candidates, who he thinks are the main favorites, why the Candidates matter so much for Hikaru, Fabi’s road to the world title, and a few spicy thoughts about Magnus. We also talk chess improvement, whether Freestyle could replace classical, and what it takes to win the Candidates. As always, we finish with a blitz game — followed by Anish’s post-game review. Don’t miss it!
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Many thanks to my Patreon supporter: Sarterus
— Intro
— Candidates qualification — surprised?
— Why 2025 clicked
— “I almost quit chess”
— What went wrong in your classical chess?
— Did the WC dream bring you back?
— Fabi and online chess
— The most important tournaments
— Anish on the WC cycle
— Are Candidates bigger than the WC match?
— Are Candidates everything for Hikaru?
— Who’s most motivated to win Candidates?
— What score wins the Candidates?
— Candidates strategy: solid or sharp?
— Anish reacts to Magnus’s Candidates tier list
— Anish’s Candidates tier list
— Who are Anish’s seconds for Candidates?
— Best way to improve in chess
— How Anish adjusts his prep
— Everyone hides prep for Candidates
— Why Anish skipped Freestyle events
— Could Freestyle eclipse classical?
— Anish’s new project
— A must-have chess app
— How players trained before apps
— Why Anish believes in the project
— Blitz vs Anish
— Game review with Anish
"I almost QUIT CHESS" | Anish Giri PODCAST
Anish Giri podcast
Anish Giri interview
Anish Giri Candidates 2026
Candidates 2026
FIDE Candidates 2026
Magnus Carlsen tier list
Anish Giri on Hikaru Nakamura
Anish Giri on Magnus Carlsen
Anish Giri on Fabiano Caruana
Anish Giri on Candidates 2026
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My name is Greg Mustreader, I am a Candidate Master in chess, an entrepreneur and host of several podcasts.
On the Chess with Mustreader channel, I interview top chess players, play against chess AIs, analyze the most interesting chess games and combinations of today and of the past, as well as show you my path in chess and the way I work on my chess improvement (including recaps from the tournaments I play).
I live in Almaty, Kazakhstan and travel the world extensively (been to 50 countries). I'm 32 years old, I have a girlfriend, three dogs and four cats. I speak English, Russian, German, and a bit of French and Chinese.
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