| Boris Gelfand | |
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| Full name | Boris Abramovich Gelfand |
| Country |  Israel |
| Born | June 24, 1968 Minsk, Belarussian SSR |
| Title | Grandmaster |
| FIDE rating | 2758 (No. 7 on the November 2009 FIDE ratings list) |
| Peak rating | 2758 (November 2009) |
- This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
Boris Abramovich Gelfand (born 24 June 1968) is a chess grandmaster. Born in Minsk, Belarussian SSR, he emigrated to Israel in 1998, and now lives in Rishon LeZion, and is Israel's number 1 ranked chess player. He has had several strong World Chess Championship performances, without ever winning.
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Chess career
Gelfand was Junior Champion of the Soviet Union at 17,[1] and European Junior Champion two years later. In 1988 he tied for first in the World Junior Championship, the title however going to Joel Lautier. The next year he earned the GM title. He has won about 30 tournaments in his professional life, including tournaments at Wijk Aan Zee (in 1992 and 1994) and first places in Biel (1993), Dos Hermanas (1994), Belgrade (1995), Tilburg (1996), Malmo (1999) and Pamplona (2004).
World Championship Candidate
Several times Gelfand has qualified for Candidates Tournaments for the World Chess Championship.
In the World Chess Championship 1993, he qualified for the Candidates via the Interzonal. He won his first Candidates match, but was knocked out in the second (quarter-final) round by Nigel Short.
In the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 he won the Interzonal, then won his first two Candidates matches, before being eliminated in the semi-final by Anatoly Karpov.
He had numerous strong results in the knockout tournaments for the FIDE World Chess Championships 1998-2004, with his best result being a semi-finalist in 1997.
He played in the 8-player 2002 Dortmund Tournament, which was the Candidates for the Classical World Chess Championship 2004, but failed to reach the semi-finals.
He finished in the top 10 in the 2005 FIDE World Cup, which qualified him for the Candidates for the World Chess Championship 2007. He won his Candidates matches against Rustam Kasimdzhanov (in rapid tie-breaks) and Gata Kamsky (+2-0=3), to qualify for the championship tournament in September 2007.
Gelfand was not one of the favourites for the World Chess Championship 2007, but he surprised most observers by finishing joint second (third after tie breaks).
Chess titles
- European Youth Championship, 1989
- Majorca (GMA), 1989
- Moscow, 1992
- Manila, 1993
- Chalkidiki, 1993
- Dos Hermanas, 1994
- Debrecen, 1995
- Vienna, 1996
- Tilburg, 1996
- Polanica Zdroj, 1998
- Polanica Zdroj, 2000
- Cannes, 2002
- Pamplona, 2004
- Biel, 2005
- ACP World Rapid Cup, 2009[2]
Team chess
Gelfand appeared in a total of 8 Chess Olympiads, representing Soviet Union once, Belarus twice, and Israel five times.[3]
In 1990, he won the team gold medal playing board 2 for Soviet Union.
In 2008, he won the team silver medal and also individual silver medal playing board 1 for Israel.
Playing style
Gelfand is notable as a 1.d4 opener as white and as a Najdorf Sicilian specialist as black, and is noted for his strong positional awareness.
Chess author
- Gelfand, Boris (2005). My Most Memorable Games. Olms. ISBN 3-283-00453-6.
External links
- FIDE rating card for Boris Gelfand
- Boris Gelfand player profile at ChessGames.com
- Rating data
- Interview with Boris Gelfand
References
- ^ "34th USSR Junior Chess Championship, Yurmala January 1985". RusBase. http://al20102007.narod.ru/ch_urs/1985/ch_jun85.html. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
- ^ Loeb McClain, Dylan (May 27, 2000). "Displaying Steadier Nerves, Gelfand Captures World Rapid Cup". New York Times. http://gambit.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/displaying-steadier-nerves-gelfand-captures-world-rapid-cup/?scp=3&sq=israel&st=cse. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
- ^ "Boris Gelfand's Chess Olympiad results.". http://www.olimpbase.org/players/gs80e0ie.html.
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