What is Boris Gelfand?
{{distinguish|Israel Gelfand}} {{Infobox chess player |playername = Boris Gelfand |image = Boris Gelfand.jpg |caption= |birthname = Boris Abramovich Gelfand |country = [[Israel]] |datebirth = {{birth date and age|1968|6|24}} |placebirth = [[Minsk]], [[Soviet Union]] |datedeath = |placedeath = |title = [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] |worldchampion = |womensworldchampion = |rating = 2753<br /><small>(#15 on the January 2013 FIDE ratings list)</small> |peakrating = 2761 (January 2010) }} '''Boris Abramovich Gelfand''' (born 24 June 1968 in [[Minsk]]) is a [[Belarus|Belarusian]]-[[Israel]]i [[chess]] [[Grandmaster (chess)|grandmaster]]. He won the 2009 World Chess Cup.<ref>[http://philboxing.com/news/story-31197.html World Chess Cup Final: Boris Gelfand is King]</ref> In 1998, Gelfand [[emigrate]]d to [[Israel]], where he is their top ranking chess player. == Chess career == Gelfand was Junior Champion of the [[Soviet Union]] at 17,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://al20102007.narod.ru/ch_urs/1985/ch_jun85.html|title=34th USSR Junior Chess Championship, Yurmala January 1985|publisher=RusBase|access-date=2009-07-31}}</ref> and European Junior Champion two years later. In 1988 he tied for first in the World Junior Championship, the title going to [[Joel Lautier]]. He earned the GM title the following year. He has won about 30 tournaments in his career, including tournaments at Wijk aan Zee (in 1992 and 1994) and first places in [[Biel]] (1993), Dos Hermanas (1994), [[Belgrade]] (1995), [[Tilburg]] (1996), [[Malmo]] (1999) and [[Pamplona]] (2004). === World Championship Candidate === Gelfand has several times qualified for Candidates tournaments for the [[World Chess Championship]]. In 1993, he qualified for the Candidates via the Interzonal, and was knocked out in the quarter-final by England's [[Nigel Short]]. In the [[FIDE]] World Chess Championship 1996 he won the Interzonal, then won his first two Candidates matches, before being eliminated in the semi-final by [[Anatoly Karpov]]. He had numerous strong results in