At the crossroads

With Alexei Shirov and Magnus Carlsen, Alexander Morozevich is clearly the most popular player in the world of the 64 squares. Just like his sidekick from Latvia, he never hesitates to set the board on fire and enter mind-boggling lines where words and variations are no longer any use to understand the position, and instead give way to instinct and imagination. And just like his Norwegian colleague, "Moro" happily uses marginal openings where talent and understanding will always prevail. 

However, while Shirov always chooses complications but has a solid repertoire, and while Carlsen often switches openings but always chooses the objectively best move according to his judgement – or the one most likely to annoy his opponents –, Morozevich follows both these pacemakers in inventiveness, which causes him to show a more chaotic career than Mikhail Tal's heir or our Norwegian Mozart. Having a personal interpretation of the chess magics is definitely praiseworthy, but the sacrifice to objectivity that Carlsen and Shirov are making looks necessary. 

Having long understood all that, Morozevich has been at an important crossroads in his career for some time. With a fluctuating Elo rating, he doesn't receive as many invitations when he is at a low ebb. Meanwhile, he perfectly realises that it's going to be all the more difficult to become world champion, which his pure talent may legitimately allow him to hope for. The Muscovite is now wondering about his career. 

Morozevich is in a perfect line-up this summer and that could well give his career a boost. Indeed, there have been so many beautiful moments in Biel where the great Russian has already won three times, an absolute record that he shares with Anatoly Karpov! A favourable, familiar environment is often the key to success: "Back to basics!" as  the great champions sometimes say. As a double Russian champion, winner at the Monaco Melody Amber, Pamplona or Bosna Sarajevo, all of that heavily spiced up with his Biel victories, with his highest Elo at 2788 and his former second place in the world rankings, Morozevich might as well rise back from the ashes as a Phoenix!

A.V. 
(N.D.)