Alexei Shirov of Spain is the second finalist of the World Cup
| Alexei Shirov of Spain became the second finalist of the World Cup. He beat the young Ukrainian Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin in the tie break games with the score of 1.5-0.5. In his first game playing with black he achieved a winning position but then experienced really heroic resistance of his opponent in defense and therefore lost a chance to win. A draw. In the second rapid game Karjakin chose to play the Marshall Attack in which black sacrifices a pawn for a long-term positional compensation. But Shirov succeeded in entering an endgame that looked like a draw but with some chances for victory. To defend such positions is especially difficult when pressed by time shortage and Karjakin failed to. The final match between Alexei Shirov and Gata Kamky will start 13 December 2007. The Spanish Grandmaster will play with white in the first game. | |
