The King of Kingwalks
Today is Nigel Short’s birthday. Recently, someone commented on one of my posts that he "never quite made it." So let’s revisit some highlights from his career.
Short was ranked third in the world by the end of the 1980s, only behind Kasparov and Karpov. At the beginning of the 1990s, he qualified for a match for the Chess Crown against Kasparov by beating a line-up of world-class opponents in consecutive matches: Spielman, Gelfand, Karpov and Timman.
How many people could defeat Karpov in a match in 1992, only two years after his last epic match with Kasparov? How about beating him four times in only 11 games? Incidentally, in this match Short employed an opening that now bears his name (the Short variation of the advance Caro-Kann).
In 1993, the World Championship was organized outside of the International Federation (FIDE). Nigel did not shy away from all-out fights with Kasparov. However, the match didn't go well for him, he ended up losing 12.5-7.5. Could this be why some people feel he "didn't quite make it"? He lost with dignity to the best chess player in history. Is that a reason to write someone off? I don't think so.
Short's tournament record is impressive. He won the British Championship four times, the Commonwealth Championship three times, the European Chess Union Championship once, and dozens of international tournaments. He was rated close to 2700 up until age 52 (2698 in October 2017). My impression is that Short is underrated today, like most players who peaked in the 80s or early 90s (before rating inflation). But he was extremely strong at his peak.
More importantly for many of us, he was an exciting player who liked unusual openings and thought in a creative way. In short, Nigel was the kind of player that is in short supply today. And although some may think he fell short, that his career had shortcomings, he’s not short of accomplishments. He’s been shortchanged by a community with a short memory and a shortage of chess historians. And this is nothing short of unfortunate.
This is my short tribute, happy birthday to Nigel Short.
https://twitter.com/Ruhichess/status/1664412123051565056
The King of Kingwalks
Today is Nigel Short’s birthday. Recently, someone commented on one of my posts that he "never quite made it." So let’s revisit some highlights from his career.
Short was ranked third in the world by the end of the 1980s, only behind Kasparov and Karpov. At the beginning of the 1990s, he qualified for a match for the Chess Crown against Kasparov by beating a line-up of world-class opponents in consecutive matches: Spielman, Gelfand, Karpov and Timman.
How many people could defeat Karpov in a match in 1992, only two years after his last epic match with Kasparov? How about beating him four times in only 11 games? Incidentally, in this match Short employed an opening that now bears his name (the Short variation of the advance Caro-Kann).
In 1993, the World Championship was organized outside of the International Federation (FIDE). Nigel did not shy away from all-out fights with Kasparov. However, the match didn't go well for him, he ended up losing 12.5-7.5. Could this be why some people feel he "didn't quite make it"? He lost with dignity to the best chess player in history. Is that a reason to write someone off? I don't think so.
Short's tournament record is impressive. He won the British Championship four times, the Commonwealth Championship three times, the European Chess Union Championship once, and dozens of international tournaments. He was rated close to 2700 up until age 52 (2698 in October 2017). My impression is that Short is underrated today, like most players who peaked in the 80s or early 90s (before rating inflation). But he was extremely strong at his peak.
More importantly for many of us, he was an exciting player who liked unusual openings and thought in a creative way. In short, Nigel was the kind of player that is in short supply today. And although some may think he fell short, that his career had shortcomings, he’s not short of accomplishments. He’s been shortchanged by a community with a short memory and a shortage of chess historians. And this is nothing short of unfortunate.
This is my short tribute, happy birthday to Nigel Short.
https://twitter.com/Ruhichess/status/1664412123051565056
