Alexei Shirov (, ; born 4 July 1972) is a Latvian and Spanish
chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
player. Shirov was ranked number two in the world in 1994.
He won a match against
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
in 1998 to qualify to play as challenger for the classical world championship match with
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
; it never took place due to a lack of sponsorship.
Career
Shirov became the
world under-16 champion in 1988 and was the runner-up at the
World Junior Championship in 1990 (second on tiebreaks to
Ilya Gurevich). In the same year, he achieved the title of
Grandmaster. Shirov is the winner of numerous international tournaments:
Biel
Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German language, German: ''Biel'' ; French language, French: ''Bienne'' ; Bernese German, locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the ...
1991,
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
1997 (shared first place with
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; ; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE ...
),
Ter Apel
Ter Apel (; Gronings: ''Troapel'') is a village with a population of 9,914 residents in the municipality Westerwolde (municipality), Westerwolde in the northern Netherlands, in the province Groningen (province), Groningen in the region Westerwolde ...
1997,
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
1998,
Mérida 2000,
Paul Keres Memorial Rapid Tournament in
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
(2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013),
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. It is organized by the Chess Federation of Canada. The event celebrated its 50th rendition in 2013.
...
2005.
He reached second on the
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...
rating list in January and July 1994, behind
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (, ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 ...
, though
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
was excluded from those lists and was rated higher. In 1998, Shirov's ranking rose again, to number four in the
PCA rating list. On the basis of this rating, he was invited to play a ten-game match against
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
to select a challenger for
PCA World Champion Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
. Shirov
won the match with two wins, no losses and seven draws. However, the plans for the Kasparov match fell through when sufficient financial backing could not be found. When Kasparov instead
played Kramnik for Kasparov's world title in 2000, Shirov maintained that the match was invalid and he was the rightful challenger.
In 2000, Shirov reached the final of the
FIDE World Chess Championship, losing 3½–½ to
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster. Anand is a five-time World Chess Champion, a two-time World Rapid Chess Champion, a two-time Chess World Cup Champion and a World Blitz Chess Cup Champion. ...
.
In 2002, he played in the
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The win ...
to choose a challenger for Classical World Champion Kramnik. He won his group of four, but lost his semi-final 2½–½ to eventual winner
Peter Leko
Peter Leko (; born September 8, 1979) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and commentator. He became the world's youngest grandmaster in 1994. He narrowly missed winning the Classical World Chess Championship 2004: the match was drawn 7–7 and s ...
.
In May–June 2007 he played in the
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The win ...
of the
World Chess Championship 2007
The World Chess Championship 2007 was held in Mexico City, from 12 September 2007 to 30 September 2007 to decide the world champion of the game of chess. It was an eight-player, double round robin tournament.
Viswanathan Anand won the tourname ...
. 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
Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...
(+0−1=5). this is Shirov's last appearance at a Candidates Tournament.
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 2010. It was held as a 128-player single-elimination tournament, between 24 November and 16 December 2007, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
In an event att ...
, which was a qualifier for the
World Chess Championship 2010. He made the final, but lost the final 2½–1½ to
Gata Kamsky
Gata Kamsky (; ; born June 2, 1974) is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and a five-time U.S. champion.
Kamsky reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 at the age of 22, and reached a ranking of fourth in the world ...
.
In May 2009, Alexei Shirov won the
category 21 M-Tel Masters 2009 tournament, held in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, Bulgaria.
In September 2010, Shirov participated in the Grand Slam Chess Masters preliminary tournament in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, where he faced world No. 4
Levon Aronian
Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...
, world No. 5
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
, and
Wang Hao; the top two scorers qualified for the Grand Slam final supertournament from October 9 to 15 in Bilbao against world No. 1
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
and World Champion
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster. Anand is a five-time World Chess Champion, a two-time World Rapid Chess Champion, a two-time Chess World Cup Champion and a World Blitz Chess Cup Champion. ...
. After drawing his first two games, Shirov then won three consecutive games, including his first victory over Kramnik since 2003. Finishing with 4½/6 points, Shirov won the tournament, qualifying along with Kramnik for the Grand Slam final.
In May 2011, Shirov won a strong round-robin tournament in
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
, Poland, the 3rd
Lublin Union Memorial 2011 with a score of 5/7. In December 2011, he switched back federations from Spain to Latvia.
In February 2012, Shirov won the
Aivars Gipslis Memorial in Riga with 8 points out of 9. In June 2012 Shirov won the Buenos Aires Masters Tournament (category 13) with 5½/7.
In August 2013, he played in the
Chess World Cup
The FIDE World Cup is a major chess event organized by FIDE, the international governing body.
History
Three different formats have been used:
*In 2000 and 2002, it was a multi-stage tournament, with a group stage consisting of 24 players in fo ...
. He won his first-round match against
Hou Yifan, and was eliminated when he lost his second round match to
Wei Yi
Wei Yi (; born 2 June 1999) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. Wei became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 8 months and 23 days, the 9th youngest in history. He is the youngest player ever to reach a rating of 2700, accomplishing this feat ...
. In August 2015, Shirov won the 5th
Riga Technical University Open
The Riga Technical University Open (also RTU Open) is an international "open" chess festival annually held in Riga, Latvia in August. It is the largest classical chess tournament in the Baltic states.
Abstract
The Riga Technical University Open ...
edging out
Robert Hovhannisyan on tiebreak score, after both players finished on 7½/9. In March 2017, Shirov won the
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet and Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and is widely regarded as Comparison of top chess players throughout history, one ...
Memorial blitz tournament in
Jūrmala
Jūrmala (; "seaside") is a state city in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, about west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and is sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a stretch of white-sand beach and is the ...
scoring 9½/11 points.
In 2018 and 2019, he won the 5th and 6th
Arica
Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...
Open.
In September 2020, during the
FIDE Online Chess Olympiad 2020, Shirov won the
Gazprom
PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
Brilliancy Prize for his win as Black against
Danyyil Dvirnyy in the
Slav Defense
The Slav Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. d4 d5
:2. c4 c6
The Slav is one of the primary defenses to the Queen's Gambit. Although it was analyzed as early as 1590, it was not until the 1920s that it started to be ...
, involving a
queen sacrifice
In chess, a queen sacrifice is a move that sacrifices a queen, the most powerful piece, in return for some compensation, such as a tactical or positional advantage.
Queen sacrifice: real versus sham
In his book ''The Art of Sacrifice in Ches ...
in a
queenside attack, and achieved an overall score of 13/15 (+12−1=2) playing for the Spanish team.
In February 2021, Shirov won the 3rd
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
Chess Festival with a score of 6/7.
Through February and March 2022, Shirov played in the
FIDE Grand Prix 2022. In the first leg, he placed fourth in Pool D with a 1.5/6 result. In the second leg, he tied with
Vladimir Fedoseev for third in Pool C with a result of 2.5/6, finishing last in the standings with one point.
In July 2023, Shirov played in the 2023
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. It is organized by the Chess Federation of Canada. The event celebrated its 50th rendition in 2013.
...
. Shirov placed first with a result of 8.5/10.
Personal life
Shirov is of
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
descent. In 1994 he married an
Argentine
Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
, Verónica Álvarez, moved to
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...
, and became a citizen of
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. From 2001 to 2007, he was married to
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
n
Viktorija Čmilytė
Viktorija may refer to:
* Viktorija (given name), including a list of people with this name
* Viktorija (singer), Serbian singer
See also
* Viktoriya
* Viktoria (disambiguation)
* Victoria (disambiguation)
* Viktor (disambiguation)
* Victor ...
, also a chess grandmaster and one of the strongest female chess players in the world. Shortly before the Shanghai 2010 tournament, Shirov got married for a third time to WIM Olga Dolgova. At that time he still played for Spain, but he and his wife also had an apartment in Riga, Latvia.
Playing style
Shirov is noted for his attacking style, a tendency which has led to comparisons with fellow Latvian and former world champion,
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet and Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and is widely regarded as Comparison of top chess players throughout history, one ...
, under whom he studied in his youth.
Illustrative game
During the 1998
Linares chess tournament
The Linares International Chess Tournament (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez Ciudad de Linares'') was an annual chess tournament, usually played around the end of February, which takes its name from the city of Linares ...
Shirov played Black against future
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...
world champion Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; ; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE ...
and won by sacrificing his only bishop in a bishop and pawn ending:
:1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bb5+ c6 8.Ba4 0-0 9.Ne2 Nd7 10.0-0 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 (''diagram'') 48.gxh3 Kf5 49.Kf2 Ke4 50.Bxf6 d4 51.Be7 Kd3 52.Bc5 Kc4 53.Be7 Kb3
Shirov's bishop sacrifice (47...Bh3!!) is considered one of the greatest chess moves of all time.
Chess books
Shirov has written two books on his best games:
*
*
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirov, Alexei
1972 births
Living people
Chess Grandmasters
Chess Olympiad competitors
Latvian chess players
Spanish chess players
Soviet chess players
Chess players from Riga
Latvian chess writers
World Youth Chess Champions
Latvian emigrants to Spain
Naturalised citizens of Spain
Latvian people of Russian descent