Traps, Tricks & Mistakes: Legendary King Walk
Nigel David Short (1965) is an English GM, columnist, coach and FIDE Director for Chess Development since 2022. Nigel Short learned chess at the age of five after watching his father teaching his older brother Martin. As a chess prodigy, he first attracted media attention by defeating Viktor Korchnoi at the age of 10 in a simultaneous exhibition in London. Korchnoi was the 2nd ranked player in the world.
In the British Championship 1977, Short became the youngest-ever participant. He even defeated the ten-time British champion Jonathan Penrose. At the age of 19 Short obtained the GM title.
In 1985 Short qualified from the Biel interzonal and became Britain’s first-ever candidate. But the Candidates Tournament held in Montpellier (France) brought him little success, finishing 10th.
In his second attempt, Nigel Short qualified again by winning the Subotica interzonal in 1987. This time the Candidates ran with a KO format and Short defeated Gyula Sax but unexpectedly lost to Speelman in London.
The next cycle for the World Chess Championship was the most successful for Short. He qualified from the Manila interzonal, 1990. And in the subsequent KO matches he defeated, Jon Speelman, Boris Gelfand and Anatoly Karpov, earning the right to challenge the champion Garry Kasparov.
From that time is today’s game that features Short’s famous king’s walk.
The unusual Short’s way of ending this game with a courageous king’s journey, has led chess authors to call it the “Legendary King Walk”.
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