Labrador lad stumps chess maestro
Matthew Killoran October 3rd, 2009
A 10-YEAR-OLD boy from Labrador has played with fire and come away without getting burned.
Daniel Lapitan was the only chess player of 26 opponents to stump super grandmaster Alexei Shirov, who is known as the Fire on the Board for his aggressive playing style.
Mr Shirov was simultaneously playing 26 people in 26 games of chess, an event called a simul.
It was part of the Gold Coast Chess Festival.
The Spanish chess wizard would stop for just a few seconds at each board, study it, then make his move.
Although his opponents ranged in age from 10 to adult, some with many years experience, he won all but one of his games.
Daniel was the only player to draw against the grandmaster and it was not by chance.
The young chess wizard said he and his father studied Mr Shirov's playing style in the weeks leading up to the simul.
"He played the opening move we expected him to play," said Daniel.
"Then, after that I knew he's really good at attacking.
"I was really happy after the game, everybody was congratulating me."
Mr Shirov's participation in the simul was the highlight of the Gold Coast Chess Festival, which was held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre last weekend. In Australia for just the second time, he said playing simuls were greatly different to playing in tournaments.
"If I try to calculate every move precisely it will take hours, so I have to rely more on my intuition," said Mr Shirov.
"I feel more relaxed and will be taking more risks.
"I feel less stressed here than I would in a tournament.
"I'm allowed to make mistakes."
It took more than three hours to play the 26 games.
Mr Shirov said he wanted to come to the festival to help promote chess in Australia. He said it helped teach children problem solving, logic and it was a fun, interactive game.
The chess simul was broadcast across the world giving the Gold Coast international exposure.
Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au
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