Jaideep Undurti is a long-time reader of and commentor to this blog, and is himself a writer on chess, at least on occasion. He has written a profile article on Boris Gelfand for IndiaExpress.com, which you can read here (with some abridgement), or you can read the unabridged version below (and be sure to thank him for supplying it for us!):
THE PROFESSOR TAKES CHARGE
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Viswanathan Anand's crown is under threat. In a stunning upset, Boris Gelfand of Israel has won the "Candidates" matches held to decide who will challenge Anand for the world championship.
"Boris is one of the toughest players to sit across the board from" says Anand, in his first official reaction.
Under the rules of FIDE, the international chess federation, Anand has to defend his title every two years. To determine the "Challenger" for next year, FIDE conducted a series of matches amongst eight of the world's top grandmasters in Kazan, Russia.
In the fray was the Armenian genius Levon Aronian as well as Anand's old rivals Kramnik and Topalov. Most thought that the challenger would be one amongst these three.
Gelfand, at 42, was the oldest in the field and ranked second-last. He was completely written off as a serious contender with an online poll seeing him get only 2% of the votes.
After nearly a month of bloody combat however, Gelfand showed iron nerves and endurance, emerging triumphant while his fancied rivals fell at the first hurdle. "He played excellently in Kazan , in what was a very strong candidates, especially in the critical games against Kamsky and Grischuk" says Anand. Gelfand showed a fine touch in the crunch game against Alexander Grischuk, first defending and then counter-attacking. "(I thought) the last game was handled extremely well" says Anand.
Gelfand's balding and bespectacled appearance along with his methodical approach has given rise to his nickname, "The Professor". Like any professor, he also has an 'absent-minded' side. Igor Bitensky, an Israeli master who was known Gelfand for many years says, "He doesen't drive the car, his wife does. Boris says his mind may be somewhere else, so its not a good idea to drive the car".
The genial Israeli wears his emotions on his sleeve. At the board he is very expressive. If he feels that the opponent has played a rash move, his eyebrows shoot up, like a teacher seeing a pupil get an answer wrong.
Gelfand also is a football fanatic. A die-hard Barca fan, he travelled to Wembley for the UEFA final immediately after the Kazan matches were over. Reveals Bitensky, "I used to play 5-a-side football with Boris. He is a striker, he was not bad at waiting near the other side's goal (for the) ball, and then finishing it in the goal in style, sometimes with his heel."
The question that is prodded at Gelfand most is his age. Says chess journalist Macauley Peterson, "It is rare for a world championship challenger to be OLDER than the champion". In the history of the sport, it has happened only once that a first-time challenger was older than the reigning champion.
Gelfand in the post-match press conference joked, "Anand’s dream has come true: in the World Championship match he’ll be younger than the challenger. He’d been dreaming about that and had already lost all hope, but now his dream’s come true."
At 42, can he climb the ultimate peak ? Negating his age is the fact that Gelfand is still highly motivated. Russian grandmaster Shipov says, "He continues to work seriously on his chess – when almost all of his contemporaries have long since ceased to do so. He follows a fitness regime, plays sport, does everything correctly. While most of his contemporaries behave like normal people. Where Boris gets the motivation to continue this self-torture is a total mystery."
Bitensky says Gelfand's "way of working on chess is one of the best in the world". "He knows what exactly to do, what should he eat in the morning, which kind of sport he should do in the evening, which people he should talk to, which people he should invite to his team, he is very very professional" concludes Bitensky.
In cricketing terms, he is the type of player you would want to patiently build an innings, to play out a fast bowlers attack.
So what kind of match can we expect when these titans clash sometime next year ? Says Peterson, "Gelfand is a touch nut to crack. Known for his solid and stubborn play, he is also quite stable psychologically, which is an important asset in match play."
Anand also notes that Gelfand has done well in knock-out events which demand a lot psychologically.
There will be little of the personal "aggro" that was there when Anand faced off against Topalov last year. "We are also good friends having played in events since our junior days" says Anand. Indeed the first time they met over the board was way back in 1989.
Gelfand, in fact, used to be Anand's "angstgegner" with the Indian losing three out of the first four encounters. It was only after 1993 that Anand began to hit back.
Predictions will be tough says Peterson, "Anand's tactical acuity and the exceptional opening preparation he has shown in his 2008 and 2010 matches has to make him the favorite, but Gelfand will be difficult to beat, so I would expect it to be quite a closely contested affair." Anand says, "He has a very deep understanding of the game and is one of the best theoreticians".
Asked about his preparation for the match, Anand says, "I think its still early days but I will be starting work on the match in a few months."
Soon bidding will start on which city shall host the world championship match - can India mount a bid? There is plenty of enthusiasm in Israel to host the championship. 2012 will be the 64th year of Israel's founding, so chess-players could repeat the old Jewish prayer, "Next year in Jerusalem".
Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 11:03PM