Boris Gelfand
Notable Games

Boris Gelfand

20 celebrated games · 1213 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 1213 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1990.09.21 Gelfand, Boris vsIvanchuk, Vassily 1-0 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Modern Exchange Variation 62 moves Tilburg Tilburg 1990: a razor-sharp Grünfeld against his longtime rival Vassily Ivanchuk — Gelfand's queenside passed pawn storms through (20.d6, 21.d7, 22.dxe8=Q+), winning a piece and the long endgame.
  • 1993 Gelfand, Boris vsAnand, Viswanathan 1-0 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Wade Variation 29 moves Interzonal-16 Biel Interzonal 1993, the event Gelfand won to reach the Candidates: a Meran Semi-Slav in which 20.Bxh7+ and 24.Rh4+ crash through for a crisp early win over the future undisputed World Champion Anand.
  • 1994 Gelfand, Boris vsKramnik, Vladimir 1-0 Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation 42 moves Candidates FIDE sf2 FIDE Candidates quarter-final, Sanghi Nagar 1994: Gelfand beats the 18-year-old Vladimir Kramnik, 30.Bxh7+ launching a queen hunt and a decisive passed e-pawn — advancing past the future World Champion before his semi-final against Karpov.
  • 1994 Gelfand, Boris vsTopalov, Veselin 1-0 Dutch Defense: Leningrad Variation, Matulovic Variation 48 moves Dos Hermanas Dos Hermanas 1994: a model positional squeeze against the future FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov's Leningrad Dutch, Gelfand's pieces dominating until the black king is hunted down.
  • 1996.08.11 Gelfand, Boris vsKarpov, Anatoly 1-0 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Queen's Indian Formation 69 moves Vienna Millenium Vienna 1996, the category-18 event Gelfand shared first in: a patient English against former World Champion Anatoly Karpov, ground out over 69 moves in Karpov's own positional style.
  • 1998.08.20 Gelfand, Boris vsShirov, Alexei 1-0 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Modern Exchange Variation 39 moves Rubinstein Memorial 35th Polanica-Zdrój 1998, often cited as Gelfand's finest game: a Grünfeld in which 15.Rxb7 and a cascade of sacrifices (20.Rxe7, 22.Bxf7+, 23.Rd7) tear open Shirov's king, the passed pawns queening at 39.f7.
  • 2002.11.01 Gelfand, Boris vsBruzon Batista, Lazaro 1-0 Catalan Opening: Open Defense 24 moves Olympiad-35 Bled Olympiad 2002: a 24-move Catalan demolition — Gelfand meets Bruzón's ...b5 grab with the central break 11.d5, winning material and the game before move 25.
  • 2004.01.16 Gelfand, Boris vsShabalov, Alexander 1-0 Semi-Slav Defense: Stoltz Variation, Shabalov Attack 25 moves Bermuda Bermuda 2004: Gelfand turns Alexander Shabalov's own trademark 7.g4 Shabalov Attack against him, sacrificing with 11.exf6 and 12.fxg7 for a 25-move mating attack (25.Bc7+).
  • 2006.11.06 Carlsen, Magnus vsGelfand, Boris 0-1 Slav Defense: Czech Variation, Bled Attack 38 moves Moscow Tal Memorial 1st Moscow Tal Memorial 2006: with Black in a Slav, Gelfand outplays the 15-year-old Magnus Carlsen, his pieces swarming the white king — a win over the future World Champion seven years before Carlsen took the crown.
  • 2007.09.18 Gelfand, Boris vsAronian, Levon 1-0 Catalan Opening 48 moves World-ch Tournament World Championship Tournament, Mexico City 2007: a Catalan against Levon Aronian, Gelfand absorbing the kingside pressure and converting — from the event where he tied for second, a point behind champion Anand.
  • 2009.12.06 Karjakin, Sergey vsGelfand, Boris 0-1 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening 33 moves FIDE World Cup World Cup 2009 semifinal, Khanty-Mansiysk: Gelfand beats Sergey Karjakin with Black in a sacrificial storm (24...hxg4, 26...Rxf3, 27...Rxf2+), on the run to the World Cup title that made him a 2011 Candidate.
  • 2010.06.14 Gelfand, Boris vsWang, Yue 1-0 Slav Defense 82 moves Bazna Kings 4th Bazna 2010: an 82-move maneuvering masterpiece against Wang Yue — Gelfand triples on the h-file and, after patient buildup, breaks through with the 44.Rxh7 exchange sacrifice.
  • 2011.05.07 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar vsGelfand, Boris 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Sozin Attack, Flank Variation 39 moves Candidates Tournament Candidates Matches, Kazan 2011: Gelfand's exchange sacrifice 20...Rxc3! unleashes his queenside passed pawns against Mamedyarov's Sozin Sicilian — the win that took the quarterfinal and began his run to the title match.
  • 2011.05.25 Gelfand, Boris vsGrischuk, Alexander 1-0 King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation 35 moves Candidates Tournament Candidates final, Kazan 2011: the only decisive game of the match — the novelty 13.b3 and the powerful 19.f4! break Grischuk, crowning Gelfand the 2012 World Championship Challenger at 43.
  • 2012.05.20 Gelfand, Boris vsAnand, Viswanathan 1-0 Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation 38 moves World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10 World Championship match, Moscow 2012, Game 7: Gelfand's deviation 6.c5 leaves Anand's light-squared bishop languishing, and he converts to take a 4-3 lead — the champion's only loss of the match, and Gelfand's first classical win over Anand since 1993.
  • 2013.06.21 Nakamura, Hikaru vsGelfand, Boris 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation 45 moves Moscow Tal Memorial 8th Tal Memorial 2013: a complex Sveshnikov in which 35...e3! and 40...Bf3! down Hikaru Nakamura and seize the tournament lead — Gelfand went on to win the event ahead of Carlsen, days before his 45th birthday and a career-high rating.
  • 2001.05.24 Gelfand, Boris vsMorozevich, Alexander 1-0 Slav Defense: Chebanenko Variation 36 moves Astana Astana 2001 — a 36-move win with White against Alexander Morozevich. Selected in Boris Gelfand, Positional Decision Making in Chess, page 48.
  • 2003.10.17 Gelfand, Boris vsVan Wely, Loek 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack, Fianchetto Variation 56 moves EU-chT (Men) 14th Plovdiv 2003 — a 56-move win with White against Loek Van Wely. Selected in Boris Gelfand, Positional Decision Making in Chess, page 67.
  • 2008.11.22 Aronian, Levon vsGelfand, Boris 0-1 English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line 49 moves Olympiad-38 Dresden 2008, Olympiad — a 49-move win with Black against Levon Aronian. Selected in Boris Gelfand, Positional Decision Making in Chess, page 178.
  • 2013.07.15 Gelfand, Boris vsGrischuk, Alexander 1-0 King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Modern Defense 62 moves Beijing FIDE GP Beijing 2013 — a 62-move win with White against Alexander Grischuk. Selected in Boris Gelfand, Positional Decision Making in Chess, page 153.
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