The contender

 Boris Gelfand, the 42-year-old former Soviet chess grandmaster who emigrated to Israel in 1998, has earned the right to become the official challenger in the current world chess championship series.

Gelfand qualified from the recently concluded Candidates tournament in Kazan, capital of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic, and he will play against defending world chess champion Viswanathan Anand of India in a world title match that is scheduled for sometime next year.

In a tense final of the Candidates tournament, he defeated Russian grandmaster Alexander Grischuk in a six-game match. The first five games of the final had been drawn with neither player able to strike a decisive blow in the games. 

Before the start of the sixth and final game, many had wondered whether it would again end in a draw, as had many other games in the tournament, thereby plunging the tournament into yet another play-off to break the tie.

But this time, Gelfand managed to gain the upper hand after Grischuk mismanaged his position, and the Israeli grandmaster held on to his advantage to win the game and the match. 

This was a heartbreak result for Grischuk for after all, he had progressed through the Candidates tournament by eliminating more favoured contestants like Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively.

However, he has no reason to really complain because in the first place he was able to take part in the Candidates tournament after Norway’s leading grandmaster, the 20-year-old Magnus Carlsen, pulled out from playing. 

So as a replacement player, being able to go this far in the final was more than he had bargained for.

On the other hand, Gelfand had qualified for the Candidates tournament from the Chess World Cup in 2009, which he won. Like his opponent, Gelfand’s progress through the Candidates tournament had been a revelation. Along the way, he eliminated Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Gata Kamsky in the quarter-final and semi-final, respectively.

The only question that remains at this stage is how Gelfand will stand up against Anand in their world championship match. But that too would also be the same question asked even if Grischuk had qualified instead of Gelfand. 

Chess observers and promoters would have been happiest if the higher profile players like Carlsen, Kramnik, Aronian or Topalov had become the official challenger instead of second-line grandmasters such as Gelfand or Grischuk. But we know that it is now not going to happen.

As it turned out, people will have to sit up and take notice of Gelfand. To many people, he has always been a lower profile player living in the shadows of more well-known chess grandmasters. 

But there is no doubt that he is an excellent top chess player who has shown an ability to survive the process of elimination and qualification in a grueling event that had lasted some three weeks. Surely, that counts for something in his credentials.

Up next

Chess camp 1

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess camp at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Monday and Tuesday. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

Chess camp 2

There will be a two-day Kids For Chess camp at the Pandan Lake Club in Pandan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur next Tuesday and Wednesday. Entry fees: RM90 (player of any level: absolute beginners, beginners, intermediate and aspiring tournament player). For inquiries, contact Kids For Chess (03.91316474 or 016.2123578, http://www.kids4chess.com). 

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association will organize the fourth leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Grand Kampar Hotel on Jun 19. Like the three previous tournaments, this leg in Kampar will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The grand final will be played in Ipoh on July 10. Other than cash prizes, points are awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

Entry fees for the Kampar tournament: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). Closing date for entries is Jun 16. To register, call Yunus (013.3908129). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

SJKC Jalan Davidson open

The Cheras Chess Academy and Percawi will assist the SJK(C) Jalan Davidson in Kuala Lumpur to organize an open chess tournament at the school hall on Jun 19. Entry fees: RM12 (students from the school and Percawi members) and RM15 (others). To register, contact Kids For Chess (03.91316474 or 016.2123578).

MBSSKL open

The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School (MBSSKL) in Kuala Lumpur will hold the sixth MBSSKL open tounament at their school on July 23. Six rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM5 (MBSSKL students) and RM15 (others). Closing date for entries is July 9. For more details, visit http://mbsskl.edu.my or contact Sanusi or Madam Yong LY (03.20782293).