Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
"I wanted to play Alexey Shirov as long ago as 1992," says Evgeny Sveshnikov. "I challenged him to a match and proposed to bet our own money. Back then, I was the Latvian champion, while Shirov was already a young star whose rating was already 100 Elo better than mine. However, I did not consider myself any weaker at the time. Eventually, Alexey felt a bit offended because he didn't like the idea of grandmasters using their own money in a chess competitions, and the idea of the match fell through. But now, it's different as we have sponsors for the event. Even so, Shirov and myself decided to contribute our own money to the prize fund in order to make a better presentation for the public."
The start of the match between two legends (picture by Vladimir Barsky)
The match between Shirov and Sveshnikov will consist of six games played at a 50 minutes plus ten second increment. Two games are played each day.
"For the first time in my life, I'm worrying more about the quality of our games rather than the outcome," Sveshnikov admitted. "One of the match's purposes is to see how many followers will be attracted by the match of two 'retirees', and my aim is to prove that our games can nevertheless be of commercial value".
The video coverage has allowed viewers everywhere to follow the games live
Both players have pedigrees that dispense presentation to chess aficionados. Alexei Shirov's firebrand games have garnered him fans for decades, and his book Fire on the Board is a modern classic, while Evgeny Sveshnikov's pioneering theoretical work has brought one of the most enduring and popular lines in the Sicilian to bear his name. The Sicilian Sveshnikov and the off-shoot Kalashnikov, are among the most important and enduring contributions to opening theory in the past few decades. It bears mentioning that Shirov is a well-known expert of the lines himself, and has authored a DVD on it.
Sveshnikov adjusts the pieces prior to game two
To the delight of the fans the opening was exactly what was expected
After four games, Shirov has taken a significant lead with 3.5/4, but despite the strong start, the games have been highly entertaining and great fun to watch. Nor does the score tell the whole tale as Sveshnikov was very close to winning game two after strong play throughout.
The games can be followed in live video at the official site, and of course at Playchess.
LinksThe games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
|
