Alexei Shirov

Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov, 2010
CountrySoviet Union (until 1991)
Latvia (1991–95, 2011–18)
Spain (1995–2011, since 2018)
Born (1972-07-04) 4 July 1972 (age 52)
Riga, Latvia
TitleGrandmaster (1990)
FIDE rating2646 (November 2024)
Peak rating2755 (January 2008)
RankingNo. 90 (November 2024)
Peak rankingNo. 2 (January 1994)

Alexei Shirov (Russian: Алексе́й Дми́триевич Ши́ров, romanizedAlexey Dmitrievich Shirov, Latvian: Aleksejs Širovs; born 4 July 1972) is a Latvian and Spanish chess player. Shirov was ranked number two in the world in 1994.[1]

He won a match against Vladimir Kramnik in 1998 to qualify to play as challenger for the classical world championship match with Garry Kasparov; it never took place due to a lack of sponsorship.