Javier Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 Alexei Shirov and World Champion Mikhail Tal have more in common than just the fact that both were born in Riga (Latvia): As Tal's, Shirov's playing style is creative in extreme and he feels like fish in water in very complex and unusual positions. Shirov did in fact study with Tal for a while. Something else they share, however, is their bad start in tournaments: Like Shirov, the number of events where Tal lost the first round is pretty large. Losing the first two games, however, was more unusual, but it still happened occasionally. Is Shirov -playing in a tournament that bears his mentor's name- trying too hard to be creative? Is he taking risks which go beyond the "reasonable limit"? Judge for yourself. Here's game two of the Tal Memorial, currently being held in Moscow: (5) Shirov,A (2741) - Kamsky,G (2723) [D15] Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (2), 19.08.2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.