World Chess hall of fame
Efim Geller
Inducted 2024 1925 - 1998
Russia
Biography
Efim Geller was one of the dominating figures of the chess world in the 1950s and 1960s, qualifying six times for the Candidates (1953, 1956, 1962, 1965, 1968, and 1971). While he never played a match for the World Championship, Geller defeated eight world champions (Euwe, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Fischer, and Karpov). Most impressively, he had a winning lifetime record against Bobby Fischer (+5, -3, =2). His overall record against the titleholders was an outstanding +39−36=131. Geller was a famous theoretician who made significant contributions to the development of many openings, particularly the King’s Indian Defense. He played on seven gold medal-winning Soviet Olympiad teams.
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