Since becoming a Grandmaster in 1990, Alexei Shirov has firmly established himself among the world's leading players and has a string of tournament victories to his name. Highlights of his career so far include a runners-up spot in the 2000 FIDE World Championship, plus an impressive match victory over the BGN World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. More recently, Shirov came outright first in the 2004 Sarajevo super-GM tournament, his winning margin over his nearest rival being an emphatic 1 1/2 points.