Dear Chess fans,
Of course, it is a big pleasure to greet you in the eve of my match against one of the most unique personalities in chess history. I remember when I first time played against Victor Lvovich in Torcy in 1990; it was kind of ‘young and green’ player against the experienced veteran. Now, fifteen years after, the definition ‘experienced veteran’ can be easily applied for myself while my opponent is not only ‘forever young’ and ‘evergreen’ but also an extremely promising and unpredictable player taking into account his recent successes in rapid chess!
In my latest book ‘Fire on Board 2’ (by the way, the German version will shortly be available too) I called my biography chapter ‘The struggle without limits’ and I think that Victor Korchnoi’s example, his lifetime devotion to chess, is the best inspiration for such an attitude. Whatever will be the outcome of our mini-match, I will definitely learn something new with this experience.
And I hope not to disappoint my fans either.
Alexei Shirov
Riga, 3rd of June 2005.
