Anish Giri

Netherlands' No. 1

“You know how it is when you’re playing a board game with family or friends at someone’s birthday party? And you take it very competitively.

I think I was in a mode where on one hand I was very competitive, but at the same time, I wouldn’t behave like this in a formal setting. It was a little bit… Too contenty. I was just in that whole vibe of where we’re just sort of going with this and it was good fun.

But these guys, they triggered me also. Because there was this ridiculousness. All this entitled bunch sitting there — all these Hikarus and others. It’s ridiculous. Every time I see them, they’re always unsatisfied.

They always need more. It doesn’t even matter exactly what the topic is. There’s always something. They’re always right, and everyone always owes them. They look at life through their own prism and there’s just no other angle to look at it.

And they’re oblivious when they are in the same situation on the other side to then realize that it’s the directly opposite. They’re oblivious to the whole thing. And whenever they’re in some situation, it’s always them who is the victim and so on.

So, I was just triggered there. But it was good fun. Obviously, I have good relations with all these people. We spent many years playing each other, all the Hikarus and Nepos and so on. It’s all good fun overall, I think.

As far as I’m concerned, this is good fun. I don’t know what their problem is…”