Israeli Boris Gelfand gets second place in chess world championship
In a stunning play, resident of Rishon Lezion manages to tie former chess world champion for second place
The Israeli chess master was ranked seventh in the world at the beginning of the competition which made his accomplishment at the competition all the more remarkable.
The gifted chess player's success comes as a result of some witty tactical maneuvers he pulled off during the 14 games he played. In a strategic play in his match against Kramnik, Gelfand castled his king on the queen side sacrificing a pawn in order to ensure his move would work.
The Israeli's play threatened his Russian opponent's king and prevented him from crowning his pawn. In the 33rd play of the game, considered fairly early on in a chess match, Gelfand and Kramnik decided to declare a tie when it was clear that the former chess world champion could not defeat him.
Vishwanathan Anand won the competition by finishing the tournament undefeated with nine points he racked up from 14 games, one more point than both Kramnik and Gelfand.
Anand's victory netted him a sum of $500,000 while Gelfand received $250,000. A large chunk of Gelfand's winnings will go two his two advisors, Israeli Alexander Chuzman and Ukrainian Pavel Elionov.
Boris Gelfand was born in the city of Minsk in Belarus. He taught himself how to play chess at the young age of five. He and his family made aliyah nine years ago.
