Boris Franzewitsch Gulko

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BorisGulko0201 003.jpg
Boris Gulko, Seattle 2002
Association Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union (until 1986) Israel (1986) United States (since 1987)
IsraelIsrael 
United StatesUnited States 
Born February 9, 1947
Erfurt , Soviet occupation zone
title International Master (1975)
Grand Master (1976)
Current  Elo rating 2542 (August 2020)
Best Elo rating 2644 (January 2015)
Tab at the FIDE (English)

Boris Franzewitsch Gulko ( Russian Борис Францевич Гулько ; born February 9, 1947 in Erfurt ) is an American chess grandmaster of Russian-Jewish origin.

Career

Gulko's ancestors had emigrated to Russia. His father was a Red Army soldier in World War II and later stationed in Thuringia , where Gulko was born. Gulko started playing chess in the early 1960s. In 1966 he was a member of the Soviet national team at the student team world championship in Örebro . In 1974 he won together with Jan Timman in Sombor , in 1975 FIDE awarded him the title of International Master . That year he won the zone tournament in Vilnius together with Vitaly Zeschkowski and Juri Balaschow and qualified for the interzonal tournament in Biel in 1976 after fights . In that year, in which he also won the Capablanca memorial tournament in Cienfuegos , FIDE awarded him the grandmaster -Title . In 1977 he won the USSR championship in Leningrad together with Josif Dorfman .

In 1978, the year in which he first belonged to the Soviet selection at the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires , he submitted an application to leave Israel together with his wife, the women's grand master Anna Achscharumowa. The rejection of the request was followed by prolonged surveillance by the KGB and further reprisals. The couple drew attention to their situation through various campaigns (including a 40-day hunger strike), but it was not until 1986 that they were allowed to emigrate to Israel. Shortly afterwards the American Chess Federation became aware of him and invited him to the USA . Gulko had celebrated various successes in the USSR before his departure: in 1981 he won the First League for the USSR championship and the open championship of Moscow in Volgodonsk, ahead of Lev Psachis , David Bronstein , Artur Yusupov , Rafael Vaganian and Andrei Sokolov , among others .

In 1987 Gulko won in Biel and in 1988 played for his new home USA for the first time at the Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki . In 1993, the year in which he won the team world championship in Lucerne with the USA selection , he succeeded in Groningen at the PCA qualification tournament with 7 out of 11 points and a shared 3rd – 7th. Place the leap into the candidate fights . Gulko met Briton Nigel Short in the quarter-finals in 1994 in New York's Trump Tower , to whom he lost 1.5: 2.5 in rapid chess after the regular competition ended 4: 4 (+1 = 6 −1). In the same year Gulko won the championship of the USA for the first time , also in Bern . He won the US Open in Las Palmas in 1996 and in Cardoza in 1998 together with Judit Polgár . In 1999 he again won the US championship, which was played according to the knockout system, by a 2.5: 0.5 final victory over Grigori Serper in Salt Lake City . At the FIDE World Championship in the 2000 knockout system in Moscow, Gulko made it to the round of 16, where he was defeated by Yevgeny Bareev . In 2001 he won together with Jan Timman in Malmö . Gulko was also qualified for the 2004 FIDE World Chess Championship in Tripoli . Anti-Israeli statements by Libyan officials and discrimination against players with an Israeli passport led to protests against the organizers and FIDE, which Gulko joined with an open letter to the President of FIDE. He was one of a group of players who eventually canceled their participation. Gulko has held the title of FIDE Senior Trainer since 2004.

Gulko lives with his wife Anna Achscharumowa (* 1957) in Fair Lawn (New Jersey) . Achsharumowa is the women's grandmaster and in 1990 was 9th in the FIDE world rankings for women.

Since 2009 Gulko has been writing a weekly column for the Russian-language US newspaper "Evrejskij mir" ( "Jewish World" ), where he examines the role of Judaism in the modern world.

Gulko has after in November 2013 Poděbrady discharged competition Snowdrops vs. Old Hands no longer played an Elo-rated game and is therefore listed as inactive at FIDE. He is one of the few players who have a positive record against Garry Kasparov : He won three games in one defeat and four draws.

National team

Gulko participated in ten Chess Olympiads, in 1978 he reached with the Soviet Union to second place from 1988 to 2004 he took part in all Chess Olympiads with the United States, reaching 1,990 and 1,998 the second, 1,996 for third place. With the United States he took part in the World Team Championships in 1993, 1997 and 2005. He won with the team in 1993 and finished second in 1997.

societies

In the Soviet club championship Gulko played in 1971, 1974 and 1976 with master Burewestnik , 1982 and 1984 with Lokomotiv . With Burewestnik he also won the European Club Cup in 1976. In the United States Chess League , Gulko played from 2008 to 2013 for the New Jersey Knockouts , in the Spanish team championship he played in 1996 for CA Marcote Mondariz .

Individual evidence

  1. column Gulkos in the newspaper "Ewrejskij me" (Russian)
  2. Boris Gulko's results at the Chess Olympiads on olimpbase.org (English)
  3. Boris Gulko's results at the World Team Championships on olimpbase.org (English)
  4. Boris Gulko's results at Soviet club championships on olimpbase.org (English)
  5. Boris Gulko's results at European Club Cups on olimpbase.org (English)
  6. Boris Gulko's results at Spanish team championships on olimpbase.org (English)

literature

Web links

Commons : Boris Gulko  - collection of images