Efim Geller

Six-time participant in the Candidates Tournament (1953-1971)

Ranking: According to Chessmetrics, he was ranked as high as world number two for three months in 1963, according to FIDE, he was ranked as high as world number eight in 1976

Highest FIDE Elo Rating: 2620

Tournament career: winner of ten super-tournaments:

2x winner of the USSR Championship

3x winner of Tata Steel Masters

winner of Las Palmas Chess Tournament 1976

and a few others…

Chess Olympiads: seven team gold medals, three individual gold and three silver medals

What earned him this:

Efim Geller was an absolute giant of Soviet and world chess after World War II. The only thing missing from his resume is a match for the world title. Consider this: six participations in the Candidates Tournament, three victories at the prestigious Wijk aan Zee tournament, a total of thirteen Olympic medals, and a peak ranking of second in the world. Don’t be misled by the highest eighth position according to FIDE. FIDE Elo lists only started being published in 1971 when Geller’s best years were behind him. In the 1950s and 1960s, the name Geller represented a formidable chess force that everyone wanted to avoid.

Geller came closest to a world championship match in 1962, when he tied for second place with Keres at the Candidates Tournament, half a point behind the winner Petrosian. But he was always a threat. When the Candidates began to be played in a match format, he reached the semifinals several times.

Geller had a positive score in head-to-head matches with several world champions: Botvinnik, Fischer, Petrosian, and Smyslov. On the other hand, he did not fare as well against Spassky and Korchnoi. Later in his career, he also became a second and coach for other stars, such as Spassky and Anatoly Karpov.

Best Games

Efim Geller vs Bobby Fischer

Candidates Tournament 1962, Curaçao, Round 2