The chances for the exciting chess attacker, Alexei Shirov to become World Champion is an extremely long shot. Not only is his rating far below his competition, but his performance (results wise) has plunged into disgraceful depths of poor chess. If there is any consolation for him, it is the fact that he became the official would-be challenger of Kasparov in the late 90's. Also, several of his games are quite interestingly spectacular so perhaps he will be an "immortal" when his day comes.

WHY HIS RATINGS ARE FALLING DOWN...

Perhaps one one of the reasons why Shirov's ratings are down 'cause he plays "risky" chess against lower rated opponents, confident he could create some brilliancy with his game with them. And hwne he loses, that game a big minus on his ratings comes since he loses to a lower rated opponent.

Anyway, here is a nice game from Shirov for you to enjoy. So, enjoy! 

Note: Although Shirov's greatness might be a thing of the past, he is still my most immitated attacking-player. In short, he is MY icon! Cheers for the Shirov fans! :)