Friday’s tactics
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
im Stukopin
gm Shirov
From the Tchigorin Memorial taking place right now in St.Petersburg. A typical Shirov mess in the Sicilian defence…Black is uncastled and vulnerable. You would think that people would have by now come to realize that playing the Sicilian against Alexi is equivalent to suicide!
Black has just played 22…Ne1, hitting the White Rook on d3. If now 23.Rd1 then 23…Qe3!? gives a lot of counterplay.
WHAT IS SHIROV’S STRONGEST COURSE OF PLAY?
Degree of difficulty: medium