Efim Geller

Efim Geller
Efim Geller in 1977
Full name	Efim Petrovich Geller
Country	Soviet Union Ukraine
Born	(1925-03-08)March 8, 1925 Odessa, Soviet Union
Died	November 17, 1998(1998-11-17) (aged 73)
Title	Grandmaster, World Senior Champion (1992)
Peak rating	2630 (January 1971)

Efim Petrovich Geller (Russian: Ефим Петрович Геллер, Ukrainian: Юхим Петрович Геллер; March 8, 1925 – November 17, 1998) was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice (in 1955 and 1979) and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions (1953, 1956, 1962, 1965, 1968, and 1971). He won four Ukrainian Championship titles (in 1950, 1957, 1958, and 1959) and shared first in the 1991 World Seniors' Championship, winning the title outright in 1992.

Geller was also a coach to World Champions Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov. He was also an author.

Geller grew up in Odessa, USSR, and was Jewish. He was a fine basketball player, and earned his doctorate in physical education before specialising in chess. His development as a top player was delayed by the inception of World War II.

Geller's first notable result was sixth place in the 1947 Ukrainian Chess Championship at Kiev with 9½/15; the winner was Alexei Sokolsky. He shared 3rd–5th places at Baku 1948 with 9/15, an event won by Jüri Randviir. Geller scored 11/18 in the 1948 Ukrainian Championship at Kiev for a shared 5th–8th place; the winners were Sokolsky and Poliak.