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January 8, 2006
2006 Keres Rapid
Rapid chess didn't exist professionally when Estonian hero Paul Keres died in 1975. The rapid tournament in the Estonian capital is a strong one, held annually since 1998. (Before that there was one in 1993.) Vancouver also hosted a Keres Memorial that started around the same time, honoring the location of Keres' last tournament. He was on his way back from winning in Vancouver when he died. (The well-known Estonian banknote bearing his image can be seen here.)
Baltic son Alexei Shirov won the event in 2004 and 2005 and was back this year in a field that included excellent speed players Karpov, Ivanchuk, and Kasimjanov. These four were the heavy favorites and three of them finished in a first-place tie. But what people keep sending me mail about is Shirov's amazing score: 0.5/9. Most are in shock, and one even wondered if he had taken ill and left the event, forfeiting the majority. But the scores are all available. It's only a two-day event, so if you're out of form you don't have any time to recover. I'm not brave enough to ask him about it, but if he's feeling up to it maybe the new ACP board member will post a comment before trying to push it out of his mind forever!
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You've said it yourself, Mig. There was no time to come back into form after a dreadful start and trying to make some draws wasn't my priority as it wasn't rated anyway.
Posted by: Alexei Shirov at January 9, 2006 09:23thank you Alexei for your remarkable honesty and willingness to let us know.
Posted by: paul at January 9, 2006 10:49Cool, Mr. Shirov reads this... :-)
Posted by: Kramnik-Fan at January 9, 2006 12:46I think Mr. Shirov did the right thing in not "trying to make some draws" and it's no shame that this happened - when you're out of form you can play some awful chess and your rating becomes almost irrelevant (at least that's what happens to me sometimes). These things happen. Don't let it get you down, this is obviously not even close to the real Shirov we all know and love for his wonderful attacking play!
Posted by: Dobre Claudiu at January 9, 2006 16:12And also Alexei's - i dont care for draws strategy- highlights the important of Elo rating formula as concerns as players motivation. Without rating surely we would have less draws , but more careless play. The choice is yours!
Posted by: christosk at January 9, 2006 16:22ah, come on... just because a guy signs like Shirov it doesnt mean he is really him. Anyway, a guy like him would surely win at least 3 or 4 out of his last games even by taking hufe risks.
Posted by: Kasparov wannabee at January 9, 2006 18:40Very amusing, "G kasparov". Of course, Garry's English is better than yours, so it is evident you are not "really him".
Posted by: Charles Milton Ling at January 9, 2006 18:57I try to be careful about identity theft issues around here. Matching IP numbers and ranges is not difficult. Alexei has posted on quite a few occasions. Or are you saying it wasn't Shirov playing in Estonia. That seems more likely!
Posted by: Mig at January 9, 2006 23:05All players go through bad patches every now and again. Alexei will bounce back! I always enjoy playing through his games. Remember, form is temporary but class is permanent.
Posted by: Kirk at January 10, 2006 04:06He's just trying to lull Adams into a false sense of security...
Posted by: MD at January 10, 2006 06:41Also remarkable is Karpov's success.
Posted by: pd at January 10, 2006 07:03I still don't think that Anatoly gets the credit that he deserves. This is a great result ! Perhaps Mr Karpov should receive a Candidate's place or perhaps even a Candidates' Final nomination
Posted by: Andrew Brett at January 10, 2006 12:29I think that if Karpov continued to work on chess as much as he did in the 1970's-mid 1990's, he'd still be a top 10 or 5 player.
He's a super-talent.
I was counting on GM Shirov to wrest the title from a far too arrogant GM Topolav. Results like this decrease my confidence, but not my admiration. I will keep on hoping.
Posted by: Mark LaRocca at January 13, 2006 14:15
