Biography
Boris Abramovich Gelfand, born on June 24, 1968, in Minsk, is a chess grandmaster from Belarus and Israel. He has been a top player in international chess for over 30 years. His career peaked in 2012 when he faced off against Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship. The match was tightly contested and ended in a tie after twelve classical games, but Anand won in the rapid tiebreaker. Gelfand's journey to the championship included winning the 2009 Chess World Cup and the 2011 Candidates Tournament, which set the stage for the title challenge.
Gelfand has regularly competed at the highest levels of chess, being a World Championship candidate six times between 1991 and 2013. He has claimed victory in major tournaments like Wijk aan Zee, Tilburg, Moscow, Linares, and Dos Hermanas, marking him as one of the top tournament players in the world. From January 1990 to October 2017, he stayed within the top 30 of the FIDE world rankings, showing remarkable consistency in a sport where staying on top is tough.
In his international career, Gelfand has played for both Belarus and Israel in team events, taking part in eleven Chess Olympiads and helping his teams perform well in this leading international chess competition. His dual nationality came about due to the geopolitical shifts during his career, including the breakup of the Soviet Union and his move to Israel.
Apart from competing, Gelfand has written about chess, sharing his knowledge and experiences from playing at the top level. He's known for his thoughtful approach, making him a respected figure in chess education and strategy. The Belarusian government honored him with the Order of Friendship, acknowledging how he brought global attention to his home country through his achievements in chess.
Before Fame
Born in Minsk during the Soviet era, Gelfand grew up when Soviet chess was at its peak. The state heavily supported chess, producing world champions like Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. The Soviet chess school focused on deep theoretical preparation and systematic training, which influenced Gelfand's early development as a player.
Gelfand's rise coincided with the big political changes of the late 1980s and early 1990s, as the Soviet Union broke up and new opportunities appeared for chess players to compete internationally. This period marked the end of the Soviet chess dominance and the start of a more global chess scene, giving ambitious young players like Gelfand new chances to make a name for themselves worldwide.
Key Achievements
- World Chess Championship runner-up in 2012
- Winner of the 2009 Chess World Cup
- Winner of the 2011 Candidates Tournament
- Six-time World Championship candidate (1991, 1994-95, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2013)
- Maintained top-30 world ranking for over 27 years (1990-2017)
Did You Know?
- 01.He became a World Championship candidate for the first time in 1991 at age 23, just as the Soviet Union was dissolving
- 02.Gelfand's 2012 World Championship match against Anand was the first to be decided by rapid games after a tied classical match since 2006
- 03.He won the Chess World Cup in 2009 by defeating Ruslan Ponomariov in the final
- 04.Gelfand has maintained dual Belarusian and Israeli citizenship throughout his career
- 05.He qualified for Candidates tournaments across three different decades: 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Order of Friendship | — | — |