Black to move
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Larry Evans Gets a Bad Shock
2 days ago
Showing posts with label Shirov (Alexei). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shirov (Alexei). Show all posts
18 December 2015
Holy Smokes!
My first impression of Shirov -- Gurevich, Munich 1993 (Chess Informant 57/287) was that the game requires more than the usual five minutes observing patterns. Gurevich sacrificed material to open the board before Shirov castled. Later, Shirov struck back and eventually prevailed. According to Shirov's annotations for Informant, Gurevich strayed from the best course from this position.
ChessDB has the game so that it can be replayed in most browsers.
ChessDB has the game so that it can be replayed in most browsers.
17 May 2014
Playing it Out
Alexei Shirov resigned as Black in this position. His opponent was Alexander Grischuk, The game was played in the European Cup in 2011.
It was not instantly clear to me how White would win, so I played the position against the computer. I took Black.
51...Re6 52.Rh7+ Kg3 53.Kb7 Rf6
Stockfish prefers 53...Re4, but after several top engine choices, the game reaches a position almost identical to one reached in my effort against the box. 54.b5 axb5 55.a6 Re8 (see digram below).
54.b5 axb5 55.a6 Rf8
56.a7 b4 57.Rh5 Kf4 58.h4
I was now confident that I could win if I had the White pieces, but I tried a few different moves for Black in any case.
a) 58...Kg4 leaves White only one winning move, but it is easy to find. 59.Rxg5+ Kxh4 60.Rc5. Black's remaing pawn is stopped and the Black rook must give itself up after a8Q.
b) 58...Rf7+ 59.Ka6 Rf8 60.Rxg5 b3 61.Rb5 as above.
c) 58...g4 59.Rb5 g3 60.Rxb4+ Kf5 61.a8Q Rxa8 62.Kxa8 g2 63.Rb1 Kg4 64.Rg1 Kg3
65.h5 Kf2 66.Rxg2 Kxg2 67.h6 1-0
Black to move
It was not instantly clear to me how White would win, so I played the position against the computer. I took Black.
51...Re6 52.Rh7+ Kg3 53.Kb7 Rf6
Stockfish prefers 53...Re4, but after several top engine choices, the game reaches a position almost identical to one reached in my effort against the box. 54.b5 axb5 55.a6 Re8 (see digram below).
54.b5 axb5 55.a6 Rf8
White to move
56.a7 b4 57.Rh5 Kf4 58.h4
Black to move
I was now confident that I could win if I had the White pieces, but I tried a few different moves for Black in any case.
a) 58...Kg4 leaves White only one winning move, but it is easy to find. 59.Rxg5+ Kxh4 60.Rc5. Black's remaing pawn is stopped and the Black rook must give itself up after a8Q.
b) 58...Rf7+ 59.Ka6 Rf8 60.Rxg5 b3 61.Rb5 as above.
c) 58...g4 59.Rb5 g3 60.Rxb4+ Kf5 61.a8Q Rxa8 62.Kxa8 g2 63.Rb1 Kg4 64.Rg1 Kg3
White to move
65.h5 Kf2 66.Rxg2 Kxg2 67.h6 1-0
12 March 2012
Intuitive Tactics
Does anyone calculate brilliant moves that computers fail to find, or does an intuitive sense drive the play? In "Shirov Test" I presented a position where Alexei Shirov found the correct move, but where engines fail. Study of that position and Shirov's idea reveals the tactical ideas that are simply beyond the search horizon of computers, but within the conscious possibilities of human players.
Shirov's move here, from the best game of Chess Informant 110, may be more complex. As in the endgame in "Shirov Test," engines fail to suggest the move. Once it is shown to these silicon monsters, however, they concur that it was best.
Shirov's move here, from the best game of Chess Informant 110, may be more complex. As in the endgame in "Shirov Test," engines fail to suggest the move. Once it is shown to these silicon monsters, however, they concur that it was best.
White to move
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| Find Alexei Shirov's Winning Plan |
03 December 2007
Shirov Test
Alexei Shirov found the winning ideas in a position that often has stymied chess engines. The game was Topalov - Shirov, Linares 1998.
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Black to move
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