Adhiban: Vaishali can beat Ju Wenjun; Gukesh 'my favourite' for World title
B. Adhiban said he coached Ganges Grandmasters to their first Tech Mahindra Global Chess League title in Bengaluru last month and spoke about R. Vaishali’s World championship match against Ju Wenjun and D. Gukesh’s prospects in an interview.
Adhiban, nicknamed ‘The Beast’, took the coaching role on short notice after being approached by Manu Gurtu of MGD1 and Sreekar Channapragada; he joined the team on the eve of the auction and accepted only on the condition it would not clash with his playing schedule. He said the side targeted Levon Aronian and secured him, and also acquired Nihal Sarin and Ian Nepomniachtchi, with Nepomniachtchi providing the crucial win in the final against Magnus Carlsen’s APL Alpine Pipers. Adhiban was part of Indian teams that won bronze medals at the Chess Olympiads in 2014 and 2022.
He credited the two women on the roster, Polina Shuvalova and Stavroula Tsolakidou, for major contributions, saying Polina gave the team a strong start and played very fast. Adhiban added that Stavroula won the Player-of-the-Tournament award, publicly thanked him and handed her Player-of-the-Match award to him, and that he worked extensively with her on opening preparation.
On training routines, Adhiban said he and Stavroula prepared together every day for at least an hour and a half, improvising openings during the event; he cited games where preparation went to plan, including one against Koneru Humpy and the final against Nino Batsiashvili where his opening idea was implemented over the board. He described Polina as someone who could always be counted on when the team struggled and praised her fearless style.
Discussing his former student R. Vaishali, Adhiban noted he had worked with her before she played in the Candidates, which she went on to win, and said she did not have a good Olympiad at Samarkand and he would speak to her when she returned. "If there is one player who could beat Ju Wenjun, I think it is Vaishali," he said, adding: "She should play freely, and not worry too much about the result: she shouldn’t think, ‘What will happen if I don’t win’."
Adhiban compared Vaishali’s style to Judit Polgar and said she was rather unlike Hou Yifan, adding that among the Chinese women he views Lei Tingjie as the most aggressive. He warned that Ju Wenjun is "difficult to beat and not someone who will collapse," recalling the way Ju beat Vidit Gujrathi as an example of her resilience, and said, "Whenever I play against Vaishali, I feel I have to be a bit careful."
On the World championship match between D. Gukesh and Javokhir Sindarov, Adhiban acknowledged many doubters because Gukesh "hasn’t been in good form after winning the title in 2024" but stated, "I believe Gukesh has excellent chances." He said Gukesh should not try to revert to an earlier version of himself and "has to rediscover himself," and recounted a running joke with Anish Giri: 'Okay at least he is bad at rapid chess'. "Then he ended up winning some rapid games somewhere. Anish and I now said, 'At least he is still bad at blitz'. Then he won against [Vladimir] Kramnik in Armageddon. Then, after crossing 2700 [Elo points], he came below that. Now we said, 'Maybe he is not 2700 level yet'. Then he comes to the Olympiad and destroys everyone."
Adhiban conceded Javokhir Sindarov "has been in great form" but said that at their peak he rates Gukesh higher and concluded, "my favourite for the World title this year is Gukesh."