Dutch Grandmaster (GM) Anish Giri has addressed recent criticism of the FIDE World Cup conditions in Goa, dismissing certain claims as exaggerated and unfounded.The controversy began when Ian Nepomniachtchi, a two-time world championship contender, expressed dissatisfaction after his early elimination in the second round by Indian grandmaster Diptayan Ghosh.“One of those places that you won’t be sad to leave,” Nepomniachtchi posted on his Telegram account on Wednesday.Several players, including Vassily Ivanchuk, had praised the tournament conditions. However, the situation escalated when Fabiano Caruana’s second, Cristian Chirila, mentioned on the C Squared Podcast that some players reported bedbugs in the hotel.Giri, who was eliminated in the third round, appeared on the ChessBase India livestream during the third round tiebreaks to address these concerns.“I’d be lying if I said that it was not a challenge to play in India for Western players. But it’s the same, the other way around. Obviously I knew there will be some challenges playing in India. Things like jet lag and different food,” Giri said.“But it’s fair, because when I play in my cold city of Wijk aan Zee, there are Indians playing there and suffering without Indian food. It’s too cold for them there. It’s the same situation, but the reverse. But it was not too hot here. The food was reasonably diverse with Western dishes too like pasta etc. The spice level was not as high as I was fearing. My main issue was jet lag. Now I have completely recovered from jet lag. I have mosquito repellant too. I’m completely ready. But now I have a flight back home.”Giri specifically addressed the bedbug claims made by those not present at the tournament.“People who are not here, they said that there are bedbugs here. It’s kinda funny because they’re not even here, they’re there! They’re telling us that ‘you guys have bedbugs’. And now we’re in a state of panic: ‘where are the bedbugs?’ Some American guy is telling us that we have bedbugs here,” he added. “And they’re saying that multiple sources have told them. I am like maybe it’s just one person who told many others, and that’s why they’re hearing it from everywhere. I don’t have bedbugs in my room as far as I know.” Giri continued with a satirical take on the situation: “My hope is that somebody here was on the bed, and saw some bug near the bed and they thought ‘I’m on the bed, this is a bug, so it must be a bedbug.’ Maybe a mosquito flying over the bed and they thought it was a bedbug. Cristian and Fabi are like, ‘We’ve qualified for the Candidates. And now you guys have bedbugs’. And here we are looking for bedbugs.”“Some of these things are exaggerated… just ridiculous. I heard that somebody said that to go to the toilet you have to go outside in the heat. But actually, the toilet is just literally five metres away from the playing hall? You don’t even want the toilet any closer, it would be smelling, yeah?”During his commentary stint, Giri made light of tournament losses and their explanations.“I told you that’s why it’s good to have a second. You can blame everything on the second. But if you don’t want to blame it on the second, you have got to go with blaming other things,” Giri remarked humorously.The Dutch grandmaster, making his fourth visit to India in 2025, emphasised that challenges exist for all players competing in different countries and conditions.
