Geller Efim Petrovich (08.03.1925 – 17.11.1998)

Ukrainian Grandmaster (1952). Honored Sports Master of USSR (1963) and Honored USSR Coach (1965). Graduated from Odessa University with a degree in political science. Earned a Doctorate in Physical Education. Economist. He won the Soviet Championship twice, in 1955 and 1979 and four Ukrainian Championship titles, in 1950, 1957, 1958, and 1959.
Geller was also the coach of the World Champions Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov.

He shared first at the 1991 World Seniors Championship and won the title in 1992.

Best results: winner or shared first at Schiavo-Zdroj, 1957; Dresden, 1959; Bewerwijk, 1965; Kislovodskin 1966 and 1968, Goteborg in 1967/68, Goteborg, in 1973; Budapest 1973; Hilversum 1973 equal with Laszlo Szabo; Teesside 1975, ahead of Vasily Smyslov and Moscow 1975, ahead Boris Spassky, Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian, Las Palmas in 1976 and 1980 equal with Tony Miles and Tigran Petrosian; Bogota and Novi Sad 1978; and Bern 1987.

As a member of the USSR team, he was the winner of seven Olympiads in 1952-1956, 1962, 1968, 1970, 1980 and six European Team Championships in 1961, 1970-83.
In 1970 he was a member of the Soviet team in the Century Match USSR vs. the Rest of the World, where he defeated Svetozar Gligoric on the 5th board with a score 2½-1½.
A participant in many Interzonal tournaments, his best results were: Stockholm 1952, 4^th; Stockholm 1962, 2^nd; Curacao 1962, 2^nd with Paul Keres behind Tigran Petrosian, Sousse in 1967, 2^nd behind Bent Larsen and Palma de Majorca 1970, 2^nd behind Bobby Fischer.
He played several Candidates matches. In eight occasions he played against World Champions scoring in total +39=123-31. He won a quarter- final match against Vassily Smyslov in 1965 with a score of 5½-2½ but lost the semi-final against Boris Spassky with 2½-5½. In 1968 lost a quarter-final match against Boris Spassky 2½-5½ and in 1971 to Viktor Korchnoi 2½-5½.

Geller said that most of all he liked the logic of chess, opportunities of analyzing and creating.
His play was characterized by innovations in openings, original decisions of the middle game, skill in swift attacks and deep understanding of endings.

The author of Za Shakhmatnoi Doskoi (1962), which was later translated and published in 1969 and As Grandmaster Geller at the Chess Board (1974)-. In 1976 he published Grossmeister Geller, containing 64 annotated games. He is the author of some opening systems and improvements in variations of the King’s Indian, Sicilian Defence, the Spanish Opening and Queen’s Gambit.

Peak rating: 2620 in 1976. Geller has a positive score against eight World Champions over the course of his career.