Boris Gelfand is an Israeli chess Grandmaster, born on June 24, 1968 in Minsk, Belarus, then part of the Soviet Union. He moved to Israel in 1998. Gelfand was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1989. He is renowned for his consistent performance in elite tournaments, renowned as one of the top 15 players in the world since the early 1990s, and his outstanding competitive record in World Chess Championship cycles.
Gelfand has won major tournaments at Dortmund, Wijk aan Zee, and Dos Hermanas. He has competed in eleven Chess Olympiads and held a position in the top ten FIDE rankings for many years. He was runner-up in the World Chess Championship 2012, narrowly losing to Viswanathan Anand in the tie-break games. Furthermore, he won the Chess World Cup 2009 and the 2011 Candidates Tournament.
Gelfand has excelled in blitz chess; he went on to win the unofficial World Championship of this variant in 1994, and became the European champion in 2006.
Gelfand has also made significant contributions to chess opening theory, particularly in the Gruenfeld Defence. He's known for his deep-audacious gameplay, praised for his operating of positions with 'stifling' positional pressure.
Gelfand has made significant contributions to society, particularly in Israel, where he's spent many years and has worked tirelessly to encourage young people to play chess. He established the Boris Gelfand Chess Academy in Rishon LeZion, which seeks to teach complex problem-solving and logic skills through playing chess. He also supports the A.Lot.Of initiative, aiming to improve the literacy and cognitive abilities of young people in the public education system.