Boris Gelfand

1.1. Childhood and Introduction to Chess

Boris Gelfand was born on June 24, 1968, in Minsk, which was then part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. His parents, Abram and Nella, were both engineers and were of Belarusian Jewish heritage. His introduction to chess came at the tender age of five when his father purchased a book on the game, Journey to the Chess Kingdom, authored by Averbakh and Beilin. This early exposure ignited a lifelong passion for chess.

1.2. Education and Early Chess Training

Recognized for his talent, Gelfand received his first formal chess instruction from Eduard Zelkind, who coached him from 1974 to 1979. Following this, he studied under Tamara Golovey for two years and then with Albert Kapengut, an International Master, for twelve years. Between 1980 and 1983, Gelfand further honed his skills by attending the renowned Tigran Petrosian School, named after the former World Champion. His diligent training quickly translated into early successes, including winning the Sokolsky Memorial in 1983 and consecutive Belarusian Chess Championships in both 1984 and 1985. In 1985, he secured the USSR Junior Championship title with an impressive score of 9 out of 11 points and finished second to Yury Balashov at the 1986 Minsk International tournament.

2.1. Junior and Early Professional Career

Gelfand made his first appearance on the FIDE rating list in July 1987, immediately approaching the top 100 players worldwide. His junior achievements continued to accumulate, as he became the European Junior Champion in 1987. The same year, he shared second place at the USSR Young Masters tournament held in Uzhgorod and shared sixth place at a USSR Championship qualifier event in Sverdlovsk, scoring 10 out of 17 points. These successes propelled him into the world's top 40 players by July 1988.

Further strong performances in 1988 included sharing first place in the USSR Young Masters tournament in Vilnius and the OHRA B Group in Amsterdam. He then finished second in the World Junior Chess Championship, losing only on tiebreaks to Joël Lautier. Gelfand also shared first place with Sergey Dolmatov at the Klaipeda USSR Championship qualifier. In December 1988, he jointly won the European Junior title with Alexey Dreev and triumphed at the Barcza Memorial in Debrecen, Hungary, scoring 7 out of 10 points. He also led the Belarus team to a third-place finish in the USSR Juniors Team Championship in Kramatorsk. His rapid rise culminated in him being awarded the prestigious Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1989.

2.2. Rise to World Elite

In his debut at the USSR Championship in Odessa in 1989, Gelfand shared second place with Alexander Beliavsky, Dolmatov, and Vereslav Eingorn, earning special recognition for sacrificing the most material throughout the tournament. Soon after, he clinched first place at the Palma de Mallorca Open with a score of 7.5 out of 9.

The year 1990 marked Gelfand's entry into major international tournaments, where he consistently demonstrated his elite status. He placed second behind Garry Kasparov at both Linares and Dortmund, scoring 7.5 out of 11 at each. He shared first place with Vassily Ivanchuk at the Manila Interzonal and finished third at Tilburg. In 1991, Gelfand secured first place at Belgrade with 7.5 out of 11 and shared second place with Kasparov at Reggio Emilia, just half a point behind Viswanathan Anand. His strong form continued into 1992, where he shared first place with Valery Salov at Wijk aan Zee, shared second place at Munich, and reached the final of the Tilburg knockout tournament, where he lost to Michael Adams. He also shared first place with Anand at the Alekhine Memorial held in Moscow.

A solid second-place finish at Munich in 1993 preceded what was, at the time, his most significant tournament victory: winning the Biel Interzonal with a score of 9 out of 13, which qualified him for the 1994 Candidates Matches. Throughout the 1990s, Gelfand remained a consistent presence in the world's top 20 players, winning the 1994 editions of Dos Hermanas and Cap d'Agde. He also won in Belgrade in 1995, shared first at Tilburg and Vienna in 1996, and finished third at Dortmund while sharing second place at Groningen. Further strong results included a third-place finish at a competitive Biel tournament and second place at the Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica Zdroj.

2.3. World Championship Cycles

Boris Gelfand has been a prominent figure in numerous World Chess Championship cycles, consistently reaching the advanced stages of qualification tournaments and even challenging for the world title.

2.4. Post-World Championship Challenge Career

Following the 2012 World Championship match, Boris Gelfand continued to compete at the elite level. Soon after the match, he shared first place with Veselin Topalov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov at the FIDE Grand Prix event held in London, scoring 7 out of 11 points with a crucial last-round win over Rustam Kasimdzhanov.

He participated in the 2013 Candidates Tournament held in London from March 15 to April 1, where he finished in fifth place with 6.5 out of 14 points. In the 2013 Alekhine Memorial tournament, held from April 20 to May 1, Gelfand shared first place with Levon Aronian, though Aronian narrowly edged him out on the second tiebreak criterion (number of wins). Gelfand achieved a score of 5.5 out of 9.

In June 2013, Gelfand secured a significant victory at the Tal Memorial, beating top players such as Alexander Morozevich, Fabiano Caruana, and Hikaru Nakamura. He scored 6 out of 9 points, finishing half a point ahead of Magnus Carlsen. This performance led to a gain of 18 rating points, elevating his Elo rating to a personal high of 2773 at that time. Gelfand bounced back from a fourth-round exit from the World Cup to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave by sharing first place with Caruana in the final FIDE Grand Prix in Paris. He gained an additional 11.9 rating points, reaching another personal record Elo rating of 2777. Despite his strong performances, he finished fourth in the Grand Prix overall standings with 325 points, missing out on a Candidates spot due to weaker results in the Tashkent and Beijing events. He also shared first place with Caruana at the subsequent FIDE Grand Prix event held in Baku.

2.5. Selected Tournament Victories

Throughout his extensive career, Boris Gelfand has accumulated numerous significant tournament victories, demonstrating his consistent excellence across various formats and venues:

• Palma de Mallorca Open (1989)
• Belgrade (1991, 1995)
• Wijk aan Zee (shared, 1992)
• Alekhine Memorial (shared, 1992, 2013)
• Biel Interzonal (1993)
• Dos Hermanas (1994)
• Cap d'Agde (1994, 2002 KO)
• Tilburg (shared, 1996)
• Vienna (shared, 1996)
• Rubinstein Memorial (1998, 2000)
• Sigeman & Co (1999)
• Melody Amber rapid (shared 2001, outright 2002)
• NAO Masters Cannes (shared, 2002)
• Pamplona (2004)
• Bermuda Invitational (shared, 2005)
• Biel (shared, 2005)
• ACP Rapid Cup (2009)
• Chess World Cup 2009
• World Chess Championship Candidates Tournament (2011)
• Tal Memorial (2013)

3.1. Chess Olympiads

Gelfand has appeared in a total of eleven Chess Olympiads, a testament to his longevity and consistent top-level play. He represented the Soviet Union once in 1990, Belarus twice in 1994 and 1996, and Israel eight times from 2000 to 2014. Across these appearances, he accumulated a total of 62.5 points from 105 games, with a record of 26 wins, 73 draws, and only 6 losses. His notable achievements include winning a team gold medal with the Soviet Union in 1990 while playing on Board 2. In 2008, representing Israel on Board 1, he secured both a team silver medal and an individual silver medal. He also contributed to Israel's team bronze medal finish in 2010, again playing on Board 1.

3.2. Other International Team Competitions

Beyond the Chess Olympiads, Gelfand has participated in various other significant international team chess events. He has competed twice at the World Team Chess Championship representing Israel, and five times in the European Team Chess Championship, first with the Soviet Union in 1989 and then with Israel from 1999 to 2005. He also played once in the Soviet Team Championship for Belarus. His team achievements in these events include a gold medal and two silver medals at the European Team Chess Championship.

7.1. Influence on Chess

Gelfand's influence on chess stems primarily from his mastery of positional play and his deep strategic understanding. He is celebrated for his ability to handle complex positions with remarkable precision and consistency. His preferred openings, particularly 1.d4 as White and the Najdorf Sicilian, Petroff, Slav, and King's Indian Defenses as Black, have been refined and showcased through his extensive career, providing valuable contributions to opening theory. His philosophical approach, encapsulated by Tigran Petrosian's advice to always play with an underlying idea, has inspired a generation of players to think more deeply about every move, emphasizing the intellectual rigor inherent in chess. Gelfand's commitment to strategic depth and his universal playing style make him a significant figure in the development of modern chess strategy.

7.2. General Reception

Within the chess community and among analysts, Boris Gelfand is consistently held in high regard for his professionalism, integrity, and unwavering dedication to the game. His career is often characterized by his remarkable longevity and consistent performance at the elite level, a feat reflected in his uninterrupted presence within the top 30 FIDE-ranked players for nearly three decades, from January 1990 to October 2017. Despite not securing the World Championship title, his ability to reach the pinnacle of the Candidates cycle multiple times, culminating in his challenge against Anand in 2012, is seen as a testament to his exceptional talent and mental fortitude. Gelfand is widely admired for his deep preparation, his calm demeanor under pressure, and his principled approach to the game, earning him respect from peers and fans alike.