Boris Alterman

Overview

Boris Valeryevich Alterman, born May 4, 1970, in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, is a prominent Israeli chess Grandmaster (1992) representing the Israeli federation (ISR). He reached a career-high classical FIDE rating of 2616 in January 1999, positioning himself among the top 50 active players globally. Recognized as an elite tournament competitor during the 1990s, Alterman has also built a distinguished career as an opening theorist, elite coach, and computer chess advisor. Notably, he served as a second to Garry Kasparov during the historic 1999 "Kasparov vs. The World" internet match and spent years as the opening book specialist for the Deep Junior chess engine. In 2010, FIDE officially awarded him the title of FIDE Senior Trainer.

Biography & Major Career Milestones

Alterman began playing chess at the age of seven. His exceptional talent became apparent during his youth in the Soviet Union; he won the Ukrainian Under-18 Championship in 1985 at just 15 years old. In 1986, he was accepted into the elite Botvinnik-Kasparov Chess School. A year later, in 1987, he shared first place with Gata Kamsky in a highly competitive Soviet Junior Championship. In 1990, he won the qualification tournament for the World Junior Chess Championship (U20), finishing ahead of future World Champion Vladimir Kramnik.

Following his immigration to Israel in 1991, Alterman advanced rapidly. He achieved his International Master (IM) title in 1991 and met the requirements for the Grandmaster (GM) title in 1992. By late 1992, successive tournament successes propelled his rating past the 2600 Elo mark.

Throughout the 1990s, Alterman won several prestigious international opens and elite closed round-robin tournaments:

• Munich Open (1992)
• Haifa International (1993, Category 12)
• Beijing Open (1995, scoring 7/9)
• Bad Homburg (1996, Category 12, sharing 1st with Christian Gabriel on 6/9)
• Rishon LeZion (1996, Category 13)
• Beijing International (1997, sharing 1st with Sergei Tiviakov)

In 1999, Kasparov recruited Alterman to assist with educational programs at the Kasparov Chess Academy and to act as his official second during the "Kasparov vs. The World" Microsoft-hosted match. Beginning in 2000, Alterman joined the Deep Junior development team, overseeing the engine's opening book during its competitive matches, including the 3–3 draw against Kasparov in New York in 2003. Since reducing his active classical playing schedule, Alterman has authored the widely praised The Alterman Gambit Guide instructional book series for Quality Chess and established the Shevah-Mofet Chess Academy in Israel.

Elite Team & Event Performance

Alterman was a core member of the Israeli national team in major team events throughout the 1990s:

• Manila Olympiad (1992): Represented Israel on Board 3, scoring 8.5/12 (+7 =3 -2).
• Debrecen European Team Championship (1992): Played on Board 4, scoring 5.5/8 (+4 =3 -1) to win the individual bronze medal and help Israel secure 4th place.
• Moscow Olympiad (1994): Played as first reserve, scoring 5.5/9 (+4 =3 -2).
• Yerevan Olympiad (1996): Represented Israel on the national team.
• Pula European Team Championship (1997): Represented Israel on Board 1, scoring 6.0/8 (+4 =4 -0) without defeat, earning the individual silver medal and logging the tournament's highest overall performance rating.
• Elista Olympiad (1998): Represented Israel.
• Clock Simultaneous Exhibition vs. Kasparov (1998): Represented a four-player Israeli national squad (alongside Ilya Smirin, Alexander Huzman, and Emil Sutovsky) in a highly publicized clock simultaneous exhibition against World Champion Garry Kasparov.

Playing Style, Material Tendencies & Endgame Profiling

Alterman possesses a universal, classically grounded playing style. Although he is globally recognized for his educational writing on sharp, historical gambits (such as the Evans Gambit, Danish Gambit, and Marshall Attack), his actual over-the-board professional career relied on positional solidity, structural integrity, and deep theoretical preparation.

He manages king safety methodically and prefers middlegames with clear central plans, often squeezing opponents through space advantages and coordinate piece play. Alterman shows a strong structural preference for minor-piece coordination and frequently maneuvers to secure the bishop pair in semi-open positions. He demonstrates a refined understanding of typical pawn structures—such as the Maroczy Bind and Carlsbad formations—utilizing them to stifle black counterplay.

In defensive scenarios, Alterman is patient, avoiding hasty or speculative complications in favor of solid blockades. In the endgame, he displays high technical proficiency, especially in converting minor structural advantages in rook-and-pawn endings and managing knight-versus-bishop micro-advantages.

Opening Repertoire & Theoretical Move Orders

1. As White

Alterman's white repertoire has consistently focused on 1.d4, seeking complex closed or semi-closed systems where his deep analytical preparation can translate into a positional edge.

His primary white systems include:

• Nimzo-Indian Defense, Classical Variation (4.Qc2): A system focused on central control and securing the bishop pair without allowing doubled c-pawns.

• King's Indian Defense, Saemisch Variation: Employed to construct a robust, central pawn wall to prepare a direct kingside storm.

• Gruenfeld Defense, Exchange Variation: Aiming to occupy the center directly and challenge Black's piece-based counterplay.

• Queen's Indian Defense, Fianchetto Variation (4.g3):

2. As Black

Against 1.e4, Alterman relies heavily on hypermodern and asymmetrical Sicilian setups to generate active counterplay. Against 1.d4, he balances robust, classical systems with highly dynamic lines.

Against 1.e4:

• Sicilian Dragon, Yugoslav Attack: Alterman's historic primary defensive weapon against 1.e4, leading to razor-sharp, opposite-side castling battles.

• Sicilian Accelerated Dragon: Used as a positional alternative to avoid some of the most critical theoretical paths of the standard Dragon.

Against 1.d4:

• Gruenfeld Defense, Exchange Variation: Exercising immediate dynamic pressure on White's central pawn front.

• Queen's Gambit Declined, Classical Variation: Used when solidity and structured counter-attacks are prioritized over immediate tactical asymmetry.

Links

• FIDE: https://ratings.fide.com/profile/2801906
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Alterman