Paco Vallejo Knocked Alexei Shirov in Dos Hermanas Semifinal

Vallejo to play the final on Sunday and first round of EICC on Monday

The first semifinal of the 14th Dos Hermanas saw a surprising outcome in Spanish derby when Paco Vallejo eliminated Alexei Shirov by 3-1. The second semifinal between Veselin Topalov and Judit Polgar has just started, games can be observed live on www.doshermanas.net.

Later at the press conference Shirov said that he still feels some fatigue after the Russian Team Championship, which was very hard, but nevertheless he credited Paco Vallejo for excellent play. After a draw in the first game, Shirov tried to introduce a theoretical novelty in the second, only to find Vallejo answering with a risky sacrifice. Shirov failed to find the best solution and few moves later ended in a lost position.

This development probably strongly influenced Shirov in the third game, which was played after only 5 minutes break. The position was even until the time trouble when Shirov started to make mistakes allowing Vallejo to clinch the victory in this mini match. The finalist was already decided, but fourth game had to be played and it ended in a draw.

This fantastic achievement posses a certain problem to Vallejo Pons. Dos Hermanas final takes place on Sunday, and already on Monday he has to be in Plovdiv for the first round of European Individual Championship. Organizers have been informed that Vallejo might be late if something goes wrong with flight schedule.

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