Interview with "The Beast" GM Adhiban Baskaran

(current Elo: 2555, highest Elo: 2701 in April 2019)

Interview questions by David Moreno Rivilla

1) Dear Adhiban,
massive congratulations for winning the Tashkent International Chess Festival 2024. You finished with 7,5/9 points, ahead of GM Timur Gareyev. You even won all of your last three games. Did you expect this success when the tournament started?
Definitely not! Even the visa I got only at the last moment, just in time to catch my flight to Tashkent. I was just happy to be participating in the event.

Top 20 final ranking of the Tashkent Chess Festival 2024

2) How did you prepare for the Tournament?
I didn’t make any special preparations for the event as I had just finished the Qatar Masters two days before the start of this event. I mentally made some conclusions from that event and told myself firmly that I wasn’t going to repeat the same mistakes which I did in Qatar.

3) You are a GM since 2010, but more importantly you have a very strong nickname Why are you called “The Beast”?
It was a nickname given to me by my godfather, Erwin L’ami! He once messaged me in 2015 saying, “Congrats, you are winning everything lately! Beast!”. That was the first time I heard such a nickname for me, and little did I know that everyone from Vishy Anand Sir to Magnus Carlsen (two of my role models and idols in chess) would eventually acknowledge and call me by that name!

4) You are 32 years old and you’ve had a fantastic career so far, for example winning the 2013 Sants Open in Barcelona and finishing 3rd in the Tata Steel Masters in 2017. Is there one game of yours that you always like to think back to?
I feel my victory against Karjakin in Tata Steel 2017 is a fond memory as it was the first time I had won against a World Championship Challenger, and it reinforced my belief that I can beat the elite players!

GM Adhiban Baskaran: "I feel dynamic play is my strength"

5) Do you have any rituals or habits that you follow in order to get ready for a game?
Not really! If I am in the same hotel/venue as the event, I like to rest before the game, and many times, if I have to travel to the venue, then I can’t follow it.

6) At what age did you start playing chess? What do you remember about that time?
I learnt chess at the age of 6 from my mother and I started to participate in events from 7 years. I remember that in a span of six months, I was able to beat my compatriots, and hence, I felt I belonged in Chess!

7) What is your next goal in your chess career?
Right now, I am quite happy with where I am! Let’s see what the future holds for me!

8) There is a Gambit against the English Opening that is named after you: 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Ng5 c6!? You have used it in a few online games in 2021, and then big-time at the 2022 Olympiad. How did you come up with that variant, and what makes it so strong?
Actually, I stumbled upon it by accident. I was showing my friend the Bellon gambit and out of nowhere we came across this idea c6. At first computer wasn’t enthusiastic about it, we felt it was good enough for an online game... but never in our wildest dreams did we expect that it would eventually be picked up by many! Also my mother always used to tell me, “You should have an opening named after you!”. I am grateful that everyone started calling it the “Adhiban Gambit!”. I feel the compensation is not immediate and is long term like the Marshall Attack, maybe that’s why it could be sound!

Check out the Adhiban Gambit in the Lichess Openings section 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Ng5 c6!?

9) Without a doubt, India is the top chess nation right now, not only because of Gukesh’s new status as World Champion, but also because India won the Olympiad in both the Open and the Women’s event. Furthermore, there are so many young Indian GMs that secure India’s future in elite chess. Do you feel like you contributed a bit to this overall success?
I hope so! I do feel that my performances in Tata Steel 2017 and World Teams 2019, not to mention winning the first historic bronze medal in the 2014 Olympiad, might have inspired the youngsters!

10) What is your biggest strength and weakness in chess?
I feel dynamic play is my strength and hence positional play is something I can always improve on. It’s the Yin and Yang of Chess!

GM Adhiban Baskaran at the Gibraltar Chess Festival

11) How do you cope with defeats in chess?
Previously, I used to take it very badly and would lose the next game. Now I am able to cope it little better, It still hurts, but at least I feel I can give comeback in the next games. I feel the faster you accept that you have lost the game, then it becomes easier to play the next game better.

12) What’s the most unusual thing you have ever experienced during a chess event?
Some alarm went off during the 2014 Olympiad and everyone had to leave the venue in a hurry thinking it was a bomb threat! But later on it transpired that somebody had died due to a heart attack and it the beep from the heart machine.

13) Which chess players, past or present, do you admire the most?
Magnus Carlsen! I feel he is the G.O.A.T of Chess!

14) What are your interests outside of the chess world?
I like to watch movies, series and read books. Also I like to play badminton and cricket.

Photo by Lennart Ootes

15) Which kind of advice would you give our readers if they wanted to make serious improvements in the following areas?
Opening: Everyone is only focusing on this, I would say try to understand the concepts by studying model games instead of memorizing just computer lines! I feel studying Morphy & Andersson would give a nice sense of how to fight for the initiative in the opening!

Middlegame: I would suggest reading about a World Champion who resembles your style, preferably auto-bio. I would recommend My system by Aaron Nimzowitsch, I feel it is a classic which covers everything!

Endgame: Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual and 100 Endgames You Must Know (by Jesus de la Villa) are a must!

Note that this article was first published originally in German in the February 2025 issue of the German chess magazine Rochade Europa).