A prestigious achievement for Israeli chess: Boris Gelfand elected to the World Chess Hall of Fame

A prestigious achievement for the rich career of Israel's top chess player in history, World Vice-Champion Boris Gelfand. The Grandmaster is the first Israeli chess player to be elected to the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis, USA.

The World Chess Hall of Fame brings together the most prominent figures in the chess world who have made an extraordinary contribution to the development of the game. Among the members of the Hall are world champions, world championship contenders, as well as organizers, historians, and top-tier chess promoters.

Gelfand is the only Israeli chess player to have won an Olympic title. In 1990, he won a gold medal at the World Chess Olympiad as a member of the USSR team. In addition, he is the only Israeli in history to have won the World Cup in 2009 and the only Israeli to have won the Candidates matches in 2011.

In June 2026, Boris Gelfand was awarded an honorary doctorate by Ariel University. For many years, Boris Gelfand was among the top chess players in the world.

In 2012, he competed against the Indian world champion Viswanathan Anand in a match for the World Championship held in Moscow. The match ended with a score of 6:6, and the champion was decided only in the tie-break.

For over two decades, Boris Gelfand was the leader of the Israeli national chess team and played a central role in its greatest achievements, including the silver medal at the World Chess Olympiad in 2008 and the bronze medal in 2010. Following a prolonged dispute with the Israel Chess Federation, Gelfand was forced to retire from the Israeli national team.

The induction ceremony for the new members of the World Chess Hall of Fame will take place in October 2026 at the World Chess Hall of Fame museum in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.