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Shirov +25 =9 -2!!
A jet-lagged Alexei Shirov took on 36 strong opponents last night at the RA Chess Club in a dramatic exhibition featuring impressive performances and an astounding upset.
The standard was remarkably high by simul standards: 6 masters (four players over 2300), another 8 experts (over 2000), and 14 A-class opponents (1800-2000). In an unusual gesture, Shirov alternated with White and Black pieces. Players came from Ottawa, Gatineau and as far away as Montreal and North Bay.
Arriving direct from Latvia at 2 a.m. Thursday morning, Shirov met his match in the vaulted Canada Room of the RA Centre. The games started at 7 p.m. Thursday (1 a.m. Friday Riga time) and quickly produced a sensation. After only 90 minutes and 16 moves, the SuperGrandmaster turned over his King and put out his hand in defeat to the youngest player in the hall, 12-year-old Pranav Sharma. Shirov congratulated the young wizard and presented him with an autographed copy of his first book, the best-selling Fire on Board.
From that point on, Shirov summoned his renowned concentration to battle his remaining 35 opponents, winning 25 games, drawing 9 and losing one more game, to RA Club Champion, 16-year-old Karoly Szalay. The last game ended just before 1 a.m. Friday morning.
CFC Vice President Stijn de Kerpel, himself a master player who had gone down in flames against the SuperGM, pronounced himself delighted by the evening's performance. He noted that Alexei Shirov is undoubtedly the highest-ranked player ever to visit the Nation's Capital.
The Ottawa Citizen referenced the event on its front-page banner with the caption "All the Right Moves: Ottawa boy topples chess grandmaster." The local front page carried an extensive report, with photograph, and the headline, "The Great One of Chess". "Pranav, who's been playing chess for about five years, said he was shocked by his victory," The Ottawa Citizen reported. "'First what went through my mind was how proud my dad would be and the second thing that went through my mind was how happy I was.'
"Pranav said Shirov was gracious in defeat---the super grandmaster raised his hands, congratulated the victor and moved on to the next match."
For the other winner, Karoly Szalay, it was another triumph in a long string of achievements, including the Canadian U16 championship and the RA Club championship. Szalay goes on to present his own simultaneous exhibition Saturday morning, with slightly less formidable opposition, at the Chess'n Math tournament at the RA Centre. Shirov will be presenting lectures at the RA Centre on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
There will be a full report in the upcoming CFC chess magazine and the games will be posted on-line at the RA Club website.
The standard was remarkably high by simul standards: 6 masters (four players over 2300), another 8 experts (over 2000), and 14 A-class opponents (1800-2000). In an unusual gesture, Shirov alternated with White and Black pieces. Players came from Ottawa, Gatineau and as far away as Montreal and North Bay.
Arriving direct from Latvia at 2 a.m. Thursday morning, Shirov met his match in the vaulted Canada Room of the RA Centre. The games started at 7 p.m. Thursday (1 a.m. Friday Riga time) and quickly produced a sensation. After only 90 minutes and 16 moves, the SuperGrandmaster turned over his King and put out his hand in defeat to the youngest player in the hall, 12-year-old Pranav Sharma. Shirov congratulated the young wizard and presented him with an autographed copy of his first book, the best-selling Fire on Board.
From that point on, Shirov summoned his renowned concentration to battle his remaining 35 opponents, winning 25 games, drawing 9 and losing one more game, to RA Club Champion, 16-year-old Karoly Szalay. The last game ended just before 1 a.m. Friday morning.
CFC Vice President Stijn de Kerpel, himself a master player who had gone down in flames against the SuperGM, pronounced himself delighted by the evening's performance. He noted that Alexei Shirov is undoubtedly the highest-ranked player ever to visit the Nation's Capital.
The Ottawa Citizen referenced the event on its front-page banner with the caption "All the Right Moves: Ottawa boy topples chess grandmaster." The local front page carried an extensive report, with photograph, and the headline, "The Great One of Chess". "Pranav, who's been playing chess for about five years, said he was shocked by his victory," The Ottawa Citizen reported. "'First what went through my mind was how proud my dad would be and the second thing that went through my mind was how happy I was.'
"Pranav said Shirov was gracious in defeat---the super grandmaster raised his hands, congratulated the victor and moved on to the next match."
For the other winner, Karoly Szalay, it was another triumph in a long string of achievements, including the Canadian U16 championship and the RA Club championship. Szalay goes on to present his own simultaneous exhibition Saturday morning, with slightly less formidable opposition, at the Chess'n Math tournament at the RA Centre. Shirov will be presenting lectures at the RA Centre on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
There will be a full report in the upcoming CFC chess magazine and the games will be posted on-line at the RA Club website.
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