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Khalifman 
 
Alexander Khalifman
Number of games in database: 1,626
Years covered: 1982 to 2009
Current FIDE rating: 2616
Highest rating achieved in database: 2702
Overall record: +459 -189 =938 (58.5%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      40 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (93) 
    B90 B92 B30 B62 B84
 Queen's Indian (74) 
    E12 E15 E14 E17 E13
 Ruy Lopez (59) 
    C91 C92 C80 C95 C78
 French Defense (58) 
    C11 C07 C18 C02 C16
 King's Indian (50) 
    E98 E97 E94 E92 E90
 Slav (50) 
    D15 D11 D19 D17 D16
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (164) 
    B62 B58 B50 B33 B22
 King's Indian (73) 
    E60 E97 E92 E81 E94
 Slav (59) 
    D17 D19 D14 D15 D12
 Ruy Lopez (53) 
    C84 C89 C88 C90 C77
 Queen's Indian (47) 
    E15 E17 E12 E14 E13
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (35) 
    C84 C89 C88 C90 C86
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Khalifman vs Serper, 1994 1-0
   Khalifman vs Seirawan, 1991 1-0
   B Lalic vs Khalifman, 1997 0-1
   Khalifman vs Ermenkov, 1994 1-0
   Z Almasi vs Khalifman, 1997 0-1
   Khalifman vs Nisipeanu, 1999 1-0
   Khalifman vs Bareev, 2002 1-0
   Khalifman vs Tiviakov, 1995 1-0
   Khalifman vs Sveshnikov, 1996 1-0
   Khalifman vs Leko, 2000 1-0

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: [what is this?]
   FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament (1999)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Match Khalifman! by amadeus
   1999 - FIDE World Championship KO Tournament by amadeus
   Reykjavik World Cup 1991 by suenteus po 147
   Wijk aan Zee Corus 2002 by suenteus po 147
   USSR Championship 1990 by suenteus po 147
   Wijk aan Zee Hoogovens 1991 by suenteus po 147
   Linares 1995 by suenteus po 147
   Reggio Emilia 1991/92 by suenteus po 147

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ALEXANDER KHALIFMAN
(born Jan-18-1966) Russia

[what is this?]
Alexander Valeryevich Khalifman, born January 18, 1966, in Leningrad, was taught chess by his father when he was six years old. He achieved the IM title in 1986 and became a GM at the New York Open in 1990. He is best known for becoming FIDE World Champion in 1999 by winning a knockout tournament in Las Vegas. He lost the title in the next knockout, held the following year in New Delhi. Viswanathan Anand eliminated him in the quarterfinals.

Khalifman's other successes include the Russian Championship of 1996 and first place in Essent 2000 with 5.5 points out of 6. According to the January 2007 edition of the FIDE ratings list, he has a rating of 2619, placing him joint 97th in the world.


 page 1 of 66; games 1-25 of 1,626  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. I Naumkin vs Khalifman 0-146 1982 TournamentE90 King's Indian
2. R Dautov vs Khalifman 0-145 1982 TournamentE69 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical Main line
3. Khalifman vs K Aseev  0-134 1983 USSRC91 Ruy Lopez, Closed
4. Khalifman vs V Malykin  0-134 1983 Ch URSC03 French, Tarrasch
5. R Dautov vs Khalifman  ½-½41 1984 Cup URSE12 Queen's Indian
6. V Ruban vs Khalifman  ½-½56 1984 Cup URSE92 King's Indian
7. S Zagrebelny vs Khalifman 0-135 1984 Sochi (Russia)B76 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack
8. Khalifman vs M Ratkovic  1-040 1984 Cup URSC07 French, Tarrasch
9. I Naumkin vs Khalifman  0-147 1984 Sochi (Russia)E92 King's Indian
10. Khalifman vs Oll  ½-½30 1984 Cup URSA31 English, Symmetrical, Benoni Formation
11. A Vitolinsh vs Khalifman 0-130 1984 Ch URS (select)C42 Petrov Defense
12. Khalifman vs Savchenko  0-130 1984 KirovabadB72 Sicilian, Dragon
13. Goldin vs Khalifman  ½-½36 1984 Cup URSA45 Queen's Pawn Game
14. M Jailjan vs Khalifman  1-048 1984 Cup URS, URSE88 King's Indian, Samisch, Orthodox, 7.d5 c6
15. Dreev vs Khalifman 0-139 1984 USSRC25 Vienna
16. Khalifman vs E Kengis  1-033 1985 Minsk (Belarus)B93 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4
17. Balashov vs Khalifman  1-049 1985 Minsk URS sfE43 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer Variation
18. S Ivanov vs Khalifman  ½-½34 1985 SovietE17 Queen's Indian
19. Kaidanov vs Khalifman  ½-½14 1985 Moscow (Russia)E45 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Bronstein (Byrne) Variation
20. Khalifman vs Blatny  1-039 1985 GroningenE12 Queen's Indian
21. Khalifman vs P Korzubov  ½-½29 1985 Lvov (Ukraine)C07 French, Tarrasch
22. Khalifman vs Kholmov  ½-½19 1985 MinskC07 French, Tarrasch
23. Khalifman vs I Novikov 1-040 1985 Lvov (Ukraine)E04 Catalan, Open, 5.Nf3
24. Yudasin vs Khalifman  ½-½30 1985 Minsk (Belarus)E36 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
25. Khalifman vs Piket 1-038 1985 Ch Europe (juniors)B58 Sicilian
 page 1 of 66; games 1-25 of 1,626  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Khalifman wins | Khalifman loses  
 

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Sep-02-07   Maroczy: <hoffe> Why even invite this guy to tournaments?
Sep-02-07   slomarko: to make a draw.
Nov-02-07   pawnofdoom: Get well soon Khalifman. He is sick with something right now so he can't participate in the Liga de Campiones tournament and Nisipeanu had to replace him at the last minute. I can't wait for Khalifman to get back into chess after he recovers
Nov-27-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  dx9293: It's sad to see Khalifman knocked out of the World Cup in the first round. A very strong player who never gets his due, I am reminded of his stunning win in the 1999 FIDE KO World Championship.

"I do not claim to be the best chess player of the world, I claim that I won the world championship, the only world championship at the moment. I have the title of FIDE world champion...looks like Mr. Kasparov has some informal but great title as the world's best chess player."

-from Khalifman's press conference after winning (transcripted by FM Joel Salman of Chess Scotland)

Nov-27-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  Red October: yes, one can learn a lot by analyzing his games, very good technician especially these http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...
Nov-27-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  Red October: Lputian vs Khalifman, 1990 is an example of the technique he is known for
Nov-27-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  suenteus po 147: Considering that Khalifman recently underwent surgery (which kept him out of Liga de Campeones), I'm not surprised he wasn't able to move past the first round. He'll be back, though :)
Nov-27-07   TIMER: <suenteus po 1147> I mentoned in the world cup page, that even the FIDE site didn't mention him in the headline despite him being their champion! Instead they mentioned Short going out, despite (I) him never being champion, and (II)as challenger he broke away from FIDE. See http://www.fide.com/default.asp?cur...

I know most of us would rate Short higher- but you wouldn't expect a FIDE site to. Also Khalifman was more recent and in this World Cup format so could even be more surprising if we didn't know his health issues.

Nov-27-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  suenteus po 147: <TIMER> I've given up trying to figure out why FIDE does any of the things that they do.
Aug-21-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Karpova: An interview with Khalifman:

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail...

His first trainer was Vassily Byvshev. His first chess book was “Journey to the chess kingdom” by Averbakh and Beilin.

He also gives insight into the training at the Pioneer Palace:

Khalifman: <Well, it’s not so easy to remember the exact format of chess training in the Pioneer Palace. Most of the time, we analysed games, and these included games played by strong players as well as our own games. Lots of emphases were given to the middlegame and endgame stages of the game. Normally, we had two training sessions per week of three hours each. But of course, I worked a lot on chess at home as well, probably something like three hours or slightly more per day on average. All physical training took place during summer camps.>

Jan-11-09   praddy06: Alexander Khalifman & Rustam Kasimdzhanov are the Weakest Fide Champions

They won on a pure luck and were not able to dominate a single tournament after their wins

Apr-10-09   Dredge Rivers: <praddy06>

Tell me what you REALLY think of them!

Apr-15-09   rangek: It seems that anand has a 13-0 record against poor Khalifman!
Apr-15-09   AnalyzeThis: He's not that poor. He's won a few things, including the 1999 world championship.
Apr-16-09   rangek: That dude, he's not that bad. Just pointing out his unfortunate record against Anand
Apr-20-09   Dredge Rivers: Let's party like it's 1999!

You know, when he was kinda sorta the World Champion!

Aug-23-09   DCP23: Played today in Zurich:

Polgar - Khalifman [B83]
Champions Rapid Zurich/SWitzerland (6), 23.08.2009

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Be2 Be7 8.g4 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.Bf3 Qa5+ 12.c3 Bd7 13.Qb3 0-0 14.0-0-0 Nxd4 15.Rxd4 Bc6 16.Bxc6 bxc6 17.Qa4 Qc7 18.Qc4 c5 19.Rd2 Rad8 20.Rhd1 Rxd2 21.Rxd2 Qxh2 22.Rd7 Qh4 23.Qf4 h6 24.Qe5 Bg5 25.Bxg5 hxg5 26.Qxc5 Qxg4 27.Qxa7 Qf4+ 28.Qe3 Qa4 29.Ra7 Qb5 30.Qd4 Qf1+ 31.Kc2 Qe2+ 32.Qd2 Qe4+ 33.Qd3 Qf4 34.Qd4 Qf5+ 35.Kc1 e5 36.Qd2 g4 37.Rd7 Kh7 38.a4 Ra8 39.b3 Kg6 40.Kb2 Rh8 41.Ka3 Rh2 42.Qd6+ Kh7 43.a5 Rxf2 44.a6 g3 45.a7 g2 46.a8Q g1Q 47.Qd8 Qc1+ 48.Kb4 Qe4+ 49.c4 Rf3 50.Q6f8 Rxb3+ Black wins 0-1

Aug-23-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  malthrope: <DCP23: Played today in Zurich:

Polgar - Khalifman [B83]
Champions Rapid Zurich/SWitzerland (6), 23.08.2009
[sans game score]>

Nice gesture there <DCP23> - thought to add the final 4 Q's + one pair of R's position...


click for larger view

Polgar-Khalifman

Final position after 50... Rxb3+ 0-1

El Khalif's two QQ's on the hunt checkmate quick! ;)

- Mal

Dec-25-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: "I have always said that the knockout system is not an ideal scheme. And I hope the system which is going to replace it will be a stepping stone to a fairer scheme of identifying the champion."

-- Alexander Khalifman

on 'his' website http://www.gmchess.com/

Jan-18-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  talisman: happy birthday champ.a title is a title...they can't take it away.
Jan-18-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  Red October: his games are testimony enough, title or no title!
Jan-18-10   Petrosianic: +0-2=8 vs. Kasparov
+0-2=7 vs. Kramnik
+0-13=18 vs. Anand

Yep, you were right. His games are definitely testimony of his true status.

Jan-20-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  dx9293: Happy Birthday!
Jan-20-10   visayanbraindoctor: <whiteshark: "I have always said that the knockout system is not an ideal scheme. And I hope the system which is going to replace it will be a stepping stone to a fairer scheme of identifying the champion."

-- Alexander Khalifman >

Former solely FIDE World Champion GM Khalifman is admirably principled. One would expect a FIDE champion to defend the two rounder KOs of the past World Cups and FIDE world championship tournaments. Instead, he sees the limitations of a two-rounder KO system; and criticizes it.

Jan-20-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  chancho: <Petrosianic: His games are definitely testimony of his true status>

Yes, he had a bad record against Kasparov, Kramnik, and Anand, but there are many a player in the database who is in the same situation versus that trio.

But Alexander does have a decent record against these guys:

search "khalifman v topalov"

search "khalifman v karpov"

search "khalifman v kamsky"

search "khalifman v shirov"

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