Khalifman Alexander Valerevich (18.01.1966)

Russian Grandmaster (1990) who won the 1999 (FIDE) knock-out World Championship to become the 14th FIDE World Champion. Soviet Youth Champion in 1982 and in 1984, European U20 Champion 1985/86. In 1995, he shared first place in the Russian Championship and in 1996 he won the title outright.

Best results: winner or shared first at Sverdlovsk 1987, Moscow championship 1988, Dordrecht 1988, Groningen II 1989, New York Open 1990 (shared), Moscow 1990, Groningen 1990, London WFW 1991, Ter Apel, Rakvere and Keres Memorial 1993, European Rapid Chess 1994, St. Petersburg-Botvinnik 1995 (shared), Hastings 1995/1996 (shared), Ischia Open, St Petersburg Championship 1996, St. Petersburg 1997, Aarhus 1997, Bad Wiesse 1997, 1998 and 2010, Essent 2000, Bazna 2007 and Minsk Open 2010.

Khalifman was a member of the Russian team which won the World Team Championship in 1995 and 1997.
In 1998, Khalifman has opened his own chess school in St. Petersburg where he is giving regular lectures and holding seminars. Khalifman has been coaching the Russian and the Azerbaijani national teams and was the second to Alisa Galliamova in the Women’s World Chess Championship 1999 and to Anna Ushenina in the Women’s World Chess Championship 2013.

The author of Opening for Black According Karpov, Opening for White According Kramnik (2002), Shirov’s One Hundred Wins(2003), Mikhail Chigorin First Russian Grandmaster, Opening for White According to Kramnik 1.Nf3 (2006), Opening for White According to Anand 1.e4 (2004-2011).

Peak rating: 2702 in 2003.