José Raúl Capablanca 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
| José Raúl Capablanca | Alexei Shirov | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1888 | 1972 |
| Died | 1942 | living / not documented |
| Country of birth | Cuba | Spain |
| Star sign | Libra | Cancer |
Who they are
José Raúl Capablanca
The story begins, as so many chess legends do, with a four-year-old watching his father play. In Havana, Cuba, in 1892, José Raúl Capablanca sat beside his father and watched the pieces move across the board. He had not been taught the rules. No one had explained the moves. But children observe what adults say cannot be taught, and when his father's knight moved incorrectly, young José spoke up. His father, startled, challenged the boy to a game. He lost. The child who had never formally learned chess had already mastered it.
Full biography of José Raúl Capablanca →
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: Cuba and Spain.
- 84 years separate their births (1888 and 1972).
- Their lifetimes never overlapped.
Questions people ask
- Who came first, José Raúl Capablanca or Alexei Shirov?
- José Raúl Capablanca. José Raúl Capablanca was born in 1888, Alexei Shirov in 1972.
- What field is each of them in?
- José Raúl Capablanca is filed under Sports (Chess). Alexei Shirov is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- No - their lifetimes do not overlap.