UPSC Prelims 2001 Q10: Current Affairs – Other Sports & Personalities
The chess player Alexi Shirov represents
- (a) Albania
- (b) Kazakhstan
- (c) Russia
- (d) Spain
Answer: (d) Spain
Explanation
Country represented by the chess player Alexei Shirov
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Alexei Shirov | Born in Riga, Latvia, in 1972 |
| Country in 2001 | Spain — he moved there and represented Spain from 1996 |
| 2000 FIDE World Championship | Lost the final to Viswanathan Anand in Tehran, December 2000 |
| Later years | Returned to represent Latvia in 2016 |
Shirov reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship of 2000, held in New Delhi and Tehran, and lost to Viswanathan Anand. At that time he was playing for Spain, which is why he was in the news when the 2001 paper was set.
Answer: (d) Spain.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. Shirov has never represented Albania.
- (b) Incorrect. Shirov has never represented Kazakhstan.
- (c) Incorrect. Though Russian-speaking, Shirov did not play for Russia.
- (d) CORRECT. Shirov represented Spain from 1996.
Key point
Anand became FIDE World Champion in December 2000 by beating Alexei Shirov (Spain) in the final.
Remember
Shirov (2001) = Spain; lost to Anand in the 2000 final.
Common mistakes
- Choosing Russia because of his Russian name.
- Missing the 2000 Anand–Shirov final as the news link.
- Not knowing that top players often change federations.
Exam tip
For a sportsperson in an old paper, recall the event in the news that year.
Sources
- FIDE — Ratings and player profile of Alexei Shirov (ratings.fide.com)
- FIDE — World Chess Championship 2000 (New Delhi–Tehran) results