And the Runner-Up Is …

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Alexei Shirov has been hovering around the world championship throne for quite a long time. In 1998, he won a match against Vladimir Kramnik and gained the right to play a world title match with Garry Kasparov. Unfortunately, organizational difficulties intervened and the match never took place. In 2000, Shirov played in the finals match of the FIDE world championship against Viswanathan Anand. But Anand prevailed. In the recently concluded World Cup in Khanty-Mansyisk, Shirov convincingly won matches against all of all his opponents, except in his final encounter with Gata Kamsky, who won the event. Even if Shirov is turning out to be a perpetual runner-up, in the game below, we see is prodigious talents in his fascinating victory over Alexander Onischuk, the U.S. champion of 2006.

ONISCHUK VS. SHIROV

(White) (Black)

Slav Defense

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3

Now more popular is the gambit

4.e4!? dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2

Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 and in recent tournaments black often experienced difficulties. In this game, white permits allows an even more obscure variation which the great majority of grandmasters playing with white would eschew. 4… dxc4 5.e3 b5 6.a4 Bb4 7. Bd2 a5 8. axb5 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 cxb5 10.b3 Bb7 11. bxc4 b4 12. Bb2 Nf6 13. Bd3 0-0 14.0-0 Nbd7 15. Re1 Ne4 16. Qc2?! In the U.S. championship in 2006, in this position while playing against Shneider, Onischuk embarked upon the more logical 16. Nd2!? Nxd2 17. Qxd2 Qc7 18.c5 Rfb8 19. Rac1 Qc6 20.e4 a4 21. Qxb4 Ba6 and won beautifully after 22.d5!! Now Onischuk probably realized that Shirov had prepared an improvement somewhere along the path of that game and he decided to deviate before the improvement could be unveiled. But now black preserves the strong knight on e4 and has an excellent game. 16… f5 17.c5 Deserving of attention was 17. Red1 Qe7 18. Ne1 Bc6 19.f3 Nef6 evicting the knight from e4. 17… Qc7 18. Bb5 Bd5! 19. Qe2 Creating immediate complications via 19.c6?! was unattractive because after 19…Nd6 20. Ba4 Nb6 21. Ne5 Ndc4! black stands better. 19… Ndf6 20.h3 White would be worse in case of 20. Ne5 Ng4! 21.f3 Nxe5 22. fxe4 Ng4! 23.e5 Rfb8 and white’s central pawns are blockaded. 20… g5! 21. Ne5 g4! 22. hxg4? Opening the f-file to black, white lays himself bare to a decisive attack. Necessary was 22.f3! gxf3 23. gxf3 Ng5 24. Kh1 Kh8 with a complicated position. 22… fxg4 23. Nd3 Other choices were not much better. In case of 23. Nxg4 Qg7 24. Nxf6+ Rxf6 25.f3 Ng5 26.f4 Nh3+ 27. Kh2 Rg6 white is losing on the kingside. After 23. Bc4 a4! 24. Bxd5 exd5 25. Nxg4 a3 big problems for white loom on the queenside. And after 23.f3!? gxf3 24. gxf3 Kh8! 25. fxe4 Rg8+ 26. Kh2 (26. Kf1 Nxe4 27. Qh2 Ng3+ 28. Kg1 Raf8) 26…Rg6! 27. Rg1 (27. exd5 Rag8) 27…Rh6+ 28. Kg2 Rg8+ 29. Kf1 Rxg1+ 30. Kxg1 Bxe4 white faces problems across the entire board. 23… Qg7 24. Nf4 Qh6 25. Rf1 There is no defense to black’s threats. For example, 25.f3 Ng3 26. Qd1 Bxf3 27. gxf3 Qh1+ 28. Kf2 Qh2+ 29. Ng2 Nfe4# 25… g3 26. Nh3 gxf2+ 27. Rxf2 Also hopeless was 27. Nxf2 Ng3 28. Qd3 Ng4! 29. Nh3 Nxf1. 27… Nxf2 28. Nxf2

(See Diagram)

28… Bxg2! The most resolute continuation of the attack. 29. Kxg2 Ra7! 30. Rh1 Equally bad was 30. Rg1 Rg7+ 31. Kf1 Ne4. 30… Qg6+ 31. Kf1 Ng4 32. Be8!? This does not amount to defense. But at least it is an elegant move. 32… Qb1+ 33. Kg2 Rxf2+ 34. Qxf2 Qxh1+ 35. Kxh1 Nxf2+ 36. Kg2 Nd1 37. Bc1 b3 38.e4 b2 39. Bxb2 Nxb2 40. Bb5 a4 41.d5 exd5 42. exd5 a3 0-1


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