Chess - The Scotsman 08/06/12

Published on 08/06/2012 00:00

THE world title apart, perhaps the most prized accolade for any grandmaster is to be compared to the attacking legend, the brilliant Mikhail Tal (whose star-studded memorial gets underway today in Moscow).

In the decade or so since the “magician from Riga” died, Alexei Shirov, also Latvian born, has often been called the new Tal, but he has dropped down the rankings.

But Shirov, 39, famous for his risk-taking play, his superb ‘Fire on Board’ game collection and his unlucky love-life, still continues to show that he is far from a spent force in the game. Recently he switched federations back to his native Latvia from Spain, and this week he won the 2012 edition of the Magistral Ciudad de Buenos Aires.

This small all-GM round-robin in Argentina wasn’t exactly a super-tournament, but it was noteworthy on account of Shirov’s participation – and sure enough, he won with a score of 5.5/7, a point ahead of Ruben Felgaer. Ironically, in his most Fire on Board-like game, it was Shirov on the receiving end of the heat.

From today’s diagram, had Diego Flores played 20 Rxg6! rather than 20 Nxg6, the attack would have proved decisive and the underdog could have enjoyed a spectacular victory against the top seed in the opening round. But instead, Shirov slowly escaped to win the endgame.

D Flores - A Shirov

Buenos Aires Masters, (1)

English/Reti Opening

1 c4 c6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e3 Nf6 4 Nc3 Nbd7 5 Qc2 e6 6 b3 Bd6 7 Bb2 0–0 8 Rg1 Qe7 9 g4 Ba3 10 Bxa3 Qxa3 11 d4 Re8 12 g5 Nh5 13 Be2 g6 14 Nh4 e5 15 Rd1 dxc4 16 Bxh5 exd4 17 Rxd4 cxb3 18 axb3 gxh5 19 g6 hxg6 20 Nxg6? Nf6 21 Nb1 Qa5+ 22 b4 Qb6 23 Qc3 Bg4 24 Rdxg4 hxg4 25 Qxf6 Rxe3+ 26 Kd1 Qd8+ 27 Qxd8+ Rxd8+ 28 Kc1 Re4 29 Nh4 Rc4+ 30 Kb2 Rxb4+ 31 Kc3 a5 32 h3 Rd5 33 hxg4 Rc5+ 34 Kd3 Rb3+ 35 Kd4 Rc2 36 f4 a4 37 Re1 Rcb2 38 Re8+ Kh7 39 Re7 Rxb1 40 Rxf7+ Kg8 41 Rc7 a3 42 Ke5 a2 43 Kf6 a1Q+ 44 Kg6 Kf8 45 Nf5 Re1 0–1