László Szabó 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
| László Szabó | Alexei Shirov | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1917 | 1972 |
| Died | 1998 | living / not documented |
| Country of birth | Hungary | Spain |
| Star sign | Pisces | Cancer |
Who they are
László Szabó
In the spring of 1950, chess's governing body FIDE organized the first official World Championship Candidates Tournament in Budapest — and it was played on Hungarian soil, in front of Hungarian crowds, with a Hungarian player competing seriously for the right to challenge world champion Mikhail Botvinnik. That player was László Szabó, and while he finished fifth in a field containing the greatest players alive, his presence alone announced something unmistakable: Hungarian chess had arrived at the summit of the game, and Szabó had carried it there.
Full biography of László Szabó →
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.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Born in different countries: Hungary and Spain.
- 55 years separate their births (1917 and 1972).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, László Szabó or Alexei Shirov?
- László Szabó. László Szabó was born in 1917, Alexei Shirov in 1972.
- What field is each of them in?
- László Szabó is filed under Sports (Chess). Alexei Shirov is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.