Getting the material ready…
Shirov breaks down the thought process that led him to find 47...♝h3!! against Veselin Topalov, one of the most memorable moves in modern chess history.
This open lesson is part of “Creativity and Calculation with Alexei Shirov”, a course of 3 lessons with the material to study them.
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GM Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov was born on July 4, 1972 in Riga, Latvia, and is one of the most creative and spectacular grandmasters of recent decades. He earned the Grandmaster title in 1990 and rose to world number 2 in the rankings in 1994, later reaching a peak Elo rating of 2755. Renowned for his aggressive, imaginative, and deeply tactical style, Shirov has frequently been associated with the chess tradition of Mikhail Tal, particularly for his ability to generate unexpected attacks, sacrifices, and positions of immense complexity. One of the most significant moments of his career came in 1998, when he defeated Vladimir Kramnik in a match meant to determine the challenger for Garry Kasparov for the Classical World Championship. Shirov earned the right to contest that match, although the match with Kasparov ultimately never took place. In the year 2000, he was a finalist in the FIDE World Championship, where he fell to Viswanathan Anand. Throughout his extensive career, he remained among the international elite for many years and currently represents Spain. His playing philosophy is also captured in his well-known books Fire on Board, a title that perfectly summarizes the essence of his chess: initiative, calculation, risk, and creativity.
