This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. Algebraic chess notation is used to record and describe the moves in a game of Chess.

Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov
Full name	Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov
Country	Spain
Born	July 4, 1972 (1972-07-04) (age 35) Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR
Title	Grandmaster (1990)
FIDE rating	2740 (No. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvijas Padomju Sociālistiskā Republika Латвийская Советская Социалистическая Республика The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. 12 on the April 2008 FIDE ratings list)
Peak rating	2755 (January 2008)

Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov (Aleksejs Širovs, Алексей Дмитриевич Широв) (born July 4, 1972 in Riga, Latvia) is a chess grandmaster. The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. On the July 2007 FIDE rating list he was ranked number eleven in the world with an ELO rating of 2735. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. Shirov is also a well-regarded chess author.

Career

Shirov became the World Champion (under 16) in 1988, the World Under-20 Vice-Champion in 1990, and achieved the title of Grandmaster in 1990. Shirov is the winner of numerous international tournaments: Biel 1991, Madrid 1997 (shared first place with Veselin Topalov), Ter Apel 1997, Monte Carlo 1998, Mérida 2000, two time winner of the Paul Keres Memorial International Chess Tournament in Tallinn, Estonia, with victories in 2004 and 2005 just to name a few. Madrid (pronounced in English in Spanish and colloquially in Spain) is the Capital and largest city of Spain. Veselin Topalov (vɛsɛ'lin to'pɑlof Веселин Топалов (born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Chess grandmaster Ter Apel ( Gronings: Troapel, 8866 residents in 2004 is a Town in the municipality Vlagtwedde in the northern Netherlands, in Monte-Carlo ( Occitan: Montcarles, Monégasque: Monte-Carlu) is one of Monaco 's various administrative areas sometimes erroneously Mérida is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. Paul Keres ( January 7, 1916 – June 5, 1975) was an Estonian Chess grandmaster. Tallinn (historically known by the German, Swedish and Danish name Reval or the Polish name Rewal, among other names Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He won the 2005 Canadian Open Chess Championship. The Canadian Open Chess Championship is Canada 's Open Chess championship first held in 1956 and held annually since 1973 usually in mid-summer

In 1998 Shirov's ranking rose to number four in the world. On the basis of his rating, he was invited to play a ten game match against Vladimir Kramnik to select a challenger for World Champion Garry Kasparov. Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian Chess grandmaster See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Shirov won the match with two wins, no losses and seven draws. ^[1] However the plans for the Kasparov match fell through when sufficient financial backing could not be found. When Kasparov instead played Kramnik for the world title in 2000, Shirov maintained that the match was invalid and he was the rightful challenger. Background Following the split in the World chess championship in 1993 there were two rival world titles the official FIDE world title and the PCA ^[2]

In 2000, Shirov reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship, losing to Viswanathan Anand. See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess Viswanathan Anand (ʋiɕˈʋəˌnɑˌt̪ʰən ɑnˌənd̪ விசுவநாதன் ஆனந்த் (born December 11, 1969) is an Indian

In May-June 2007 he played in the Candidates Tournament of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007. The Candidates Tournament was a triennial Chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE as the final contest to determine the challenger for the The World Chess Championship 2007 was held in Mexico City, from September 12 2007 to September He won his first round match against Michael Adams (+1-1=4, won in rapid playoff), but was eliminated when he lost his second round match to Levon Aronian (+0-1=5). Michael Adams (born November 17, 1971 in Truro, Cornwall, England, UK) is a British Grandmaster of Levon Aronian (Լևոն Արոնյան born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian Chess player

In November-December 2007 Shirov played in the Chess World Cup 2007. The Chess World Cup 2007 served as a qualification tournament for the World Chess Championship 2009. He made the final, but lost the final 2. 5-1. 5 to Gata Kamsky. Gata Kamsky real name Gataulla Rustemovich Sabirov ( Tatar: Ğata Kamskiy Ğataulla Rөstəm uğlı Sabirov Гата Камский Гатаулла Рөстәм улы Сабиров

Personal life

In 1994 Shirov married an Argentine, Verónica Alvarez, moved to Tarragona, and became a citizen of Spain. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Tarragona (tərəˈɣonə in Catalan) is a city located in the south of Catalonia and east of Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Although he still plays for Spain, he currently resides in Latvia, married to Lithuanian IM/WGM Viktorija Čmilytė. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Viktorija Čmilytė (born on August 6 1983 in Šiauliai) is a Lithuanian chess player with the titles of International Master

Playing style

Shirov is noted for his attacking style and for seeking complications, a tendency which has led to comparisons with fellow Latvian and former world champion, Mikhail Tal, whom he studied under in his youth. Mikhail Tal (Mihails Tāls Михаил Нехемьевич Таль Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, mʲixa'iɫ̺ n̻ʲɛ'xɛmjɛvʲiʨ t̺al̻ sometimes transliterated Mihails

Sample game

The position after 47. . . . Bh3, the move that is placed number one in John Emms' book The Most Amazing Chess Moves of All Time

During the 1998 Linares chess tournament Shirov played black against future FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov and won with a piece sacrifice in a bishop and pawn ending. John Emms (born March 14 1967) is a chess player who has earned the rank of International Grandmaster. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The annual Linares chess tournament, usually played around the end of February takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess Veselin Topalov (vɛsɛ'lin to'pɑlof Веселин Топалов (born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Chess grandmaster

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Ba4 O-O 9. Ne2 Nd7 10. O-O e5 11. f3 Qe7 12. Be3 Rd8 13. Qc2 Nb6 14. Bb3 Be6 15. Rad1 Nc4 16. Bc1 b5 17. f4 exd4 18. Nxd4 Bg4 19. Rde1 Qc5 20. Kh1 a5 21. h3 Bd7 22. a4 bxa4 23. Ba2 Be8 24. e5 Nb6 25. f5 Nd5 26. Bd2 Nb4 27. Qxa4 Nxa2 28. Qxa2 Bxe5 29. fxg6 hxg6 30. Bg5 Rd5 31. Re3 Qd6 32. Qe2 Bd7 33. c4 Bxd4 34. cxd5 Bxe3 35. Qxe3 Re8 36. Qc3 Qxd5 37. Bh6 Re5 38. Rf3 Qc5 39. Qa1 Bf5 40. Re3 f6 41. Rxe5 Qxe5 42. Qa2+ Qd5 43. Qxd5+ cxd5 44. Bd2 a4 45. Bc3 Kf7 46. h4 Ke6 47. Kg1 Bh3!! (See diagram) 48. gxh3 Kf5 49. Kf2 Ke4 50. Bxf6 d4 51. Be7 Kd3 52. Bc5 Kc4 53. Be7 Kb3 0-1

Chess books

Shirov has written two books of his best games:

• Shirov, Alexei (1995). Fire on Board: Shirov's Best Games. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-150-8.  
• Shirov, Alexei (2005). Fire on Board, Part 2 : 1997-2004. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-382-9.  

References

1. ^ 1998-99 World Chess Council, Mark Week's Chess pages
2. ^ Interview by Hartmut Metz, May 2000, translation by Harald Fietz

External links

• FIDE rating card for Alexei Shirov
• Alexei Shirov download 976 of his games in pgn format. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the
• Alexei Shirov at ChessGames.com
• Shirov- Topalov 2000 Multimedia Annotated Game