Grandmaster games · 15th Linares 1998
Shirov's Bishop on h3
Two pawns up in a bishop ending that every textbook calls a draw, Shirov gives away the bishop: 47...Bh3!!, the move that wins by one tempo.
The setting
Linares, March 1998: a double round robin of seven players, category XXI, with Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Svidler, Topalov and Shirov. Anand won it. In round 10 Topalov has White against Shirov, and Shirov answers 1.d4 with the Grünfeld, an opening that hands White the centre and attacks it with pieces.
Why study it
Live it from inside both minds. Topalov builds a kingside attack and stands to win on move 26, where 26.f6 would have crushed Black; a quiet bishop move lets Shirov off the hook. Twenty moves later Shirov is two pawns up in a bishop ending of opposite colours, the kind that is drawn almost by habit, and finds the one move that wins: a bishop given away on h3 so that the king can walk to e4 a tempo sooner. Count the moves with both players.
Live it from inside a mind
Each player speaks in the first person, in a voice of their own: what they see, what they fear, the lines they calculate, why they choose. Switch minds at any move.
Veselin Topalov
White · Bulgaria · 2740 at the time · peak 2816
A 22-year-old from Bulgaria, already in the world's top ten and known for sharp, ambitious attacking chess. Topalov became FIDE world champion at San Luis in 2005 and later reached a peak rating of 2816.
Alexei Shirov
Black · Spain · 2710 at the time · peak 2755
Born in Riga in 1972 and playing for Spain, Shirov was one of the most imaginative players in the world, famous for sacrifices and fire on the board. Later in 1998 Shirov beat Kramnik in a match to become Kasparov's challenger; the title match never took place.
Round ten at Linares, White against Shirov. Alexei plays the Grünfeld and loves a mess as much as I do, so I expect a fight from the first move. I want the centre, then a kingside attack behind it, and I am ready to take risks to get one. With White against Shirov, a quiet draw is not the goal.
Round ten, Black against Topalov. Veselin attacks everything and calculates fast, so I choose the Grünfeld: give White the centre and fight it with pieces. I want a sharp game where both of us can go wrong. If it comes down to an ending, I will count every move, for both kings.
The game in 6 chapters
- 1
The Grünfeld and 7.Bb5 check moves 1–11
Shirov chooses the Grünfeld. Topalov takes the centre with e4 and bxc3, provokes ...c6 with a bishop check, and supports e4 with f3. Shirov strikes with ...e5 and puts the queen on e7.
- 2
The knight on c4 moves 12–19
12...Rd8 and 15...Nc4 plant a knight in the middle of White's queenside; ...b5 keeps it there. Topalov answers with 17.f4, and after ...exd4 Nxd4 Shirov pins the knight with ...Qc5.
- 3
Both sides go for it moves 20–25
Shirov gives up the b-pawn structure with ...a5 and ...bxa4 for queenside play; Topalov's e5 and f5 crash forward. By move 25 Stockfish rates White close to winning.
- 4
26.Bd2 and the counter-blow moves 26–32
Topalov plays the quiet 26.Bd2 instead of 26.f6. Shirov hits at once: ...Nb4, ...Nxa2 and ...Bxe5 win a pawn and kill the attack. 30...Rd5 brings the rook to the middle.
- 5
The trades on d4 and e3 moves 33–43
33.c4 forces a series of exchanges. Shirov wins the pawn on d5, the rooks come off, and Topalov trades queens on d5, reaching a bishop ending of opposite colours two pawns down.
- 6
The bishop on h3 moves 44–53
Topalov sets up the blockade; Shirov brings the king to e6. Then 47...Bh3!!: the bishop is given so that the king reaches e4 one move sooner, and the d- and a-pawns win the race.