In May/June 2007 he played in the Candidates Tournament of the FIDE World Chess Championship. He won his first round match against Michael Adams (+1-1=4, won in rapid playoff), but was eliminated when he lost his second round match to Levon Aronian (+0-1=5). In November/December 2007 Shirov played in the Chess World Cup. He lost in the final 2.5-1.5 to Gata Kamsky.