Efim Bogoljubov vs Alexei Shirov
Two chess prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Efim Bogoljubov | Alexei Shirov | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1889 | 1972 |
| Died | 1952 | living / not documented |
| Country of birth | Russia | Spain |
| Star sign | Aries | Cancer |
Who they are
Efim Bogoljubov
A story — possibly apocryphal, certainly too good not to record — holds that when someone asked Efim Bogoljubov why he was so confident before a particular game, he replied: "When I have White, I win because I have White. When I have Black, I win because I am Bogoljubov." The line captures the man perfectly: large ego, enormous confidence, an infectious delight in chess, and enough genuine talent to partially justify every bit of it. Bogoljubov was not quite the best chess player of his era, but he was very nearly so, and the…
Full biography of Efim Bogoljubov →
Alexei Shirov
There is a move in a 1998 game between Alexei Shirov and Veselin Topalov that chess players call simply "the Shirov move." It is a bishop sacrifice — Bh3!! — made in a complex middlegame position in the Benoni Defense, in a game that Shirov was playing from behind. The move appears, at first and second and third glance, to be simply wrong. Bishops do not belong on h3 in such positions; the move gives material without obvious compensation; no computer engine of the era would have found it. Shirov found it, played it, and…
Full biography of Alexei Shirov →
What they share
- Both are held here under Sports.
- Same sub-field: Chess.
Where they part
- Born in different countries: Russia and Spain.
- 83 years separate their births (1889 and 1972).
- Their lifetimes never overlapped.
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Efim Bogoljubov or Alexei Shirov?
- Efim Bogoljubov. Efim Bogoljubov was born in 1889, Alexei Shirov in 1972.
- What field is each of them in?
- Efim Bogoljubov is filed under Sports (Chess). Alexei Shirov is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- No - their lifetimes do not overlap.