Efim Petrovich Geller (Russian: Ефим Петрович Геллер, Ukrainian: Юхим Петрович Геллер; March 8, 1925 – November 17, 1998) was a Soviet chess player, a Grandmaster of world class at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice, in 1955 and 1979. Geller 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. He shared first in t...
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Efim Petrovich Geller (Russian: Ефим Петрович Геллер, Ukrainian: Юхим Петрович Геллер; March 8, 1925 – November 17, 1998) was a Soviet chess player, a Grandmaster of world class at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice, in 1955 and 1979. Geller 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. He shared first in the 1991 World Seniors' Championship, and won the title outright in 1992. Geller was also a coach to World Champions Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov, and an author.
He grew up in Odessa, USSR. He was a fine basketball player, and earned his Doctorate in Physical Education, before specializing in chess. His development as a top chess player was delayed by the timing of World War II. Geller's first notable result was sixth place in the 1947 Ukrainian Championship at Kiev with 9.5/15; the winner was Alexei Sokolsky. He shared 3rd-5th places at...
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