Boris Gulko – The Only Soviet & American Champion

Boris Gulko (born 1947) is a Grandmaster who stands alone in chess history. He is the only player to have won the national championship of the Soviet Union (a superpower of chess) and, after emigrating, the United States.

Gulko was a "kryptonite" player for Garry Kasparov. He holds a positive lifetime score against the legendary World Champion (+3 wins, -1 loss, =4 draws in classical games). He seemed to understand Kasparov's psychology better than almost anyone else.

After applying to emigrate to Israel in 1979, the Soviet authorities stripped him of opportunities to play. For seven years, he was a "Refusenik," protesting with hunger strikes and demonstrations until Glasnost allowed him to leave in 1986.

Gulko is a master of psychology. He famously said he doesn't play the board; he plays the opponent. He excels in murky, unstructured positions where intuition and nerves matter more than memorized theory.

He won the USSR Championship in 1977 (tied with Dorfman) and the U.S. Championship twice (1994 and 1999). No other player has conquered both of these chess superpowers.

In their very first meeting in 1978, Gulko defeated a young Kasparov. He continued to torment Kasparov throughout the 80s and 90s, famously beating him again at Linares 1990 with the Black pieces.

In 1982, Boris and his wife (WGM Anna Akhsharumova) staged a month-long hunger strike to demand their right to emigrate. It drew international attention to the plight of Soviet Jews.

In 1994, representing the USA, he qualified for the Candidates Matches, reaching the Quarterfinals where he narrowly lost to Nigel Short in overtime tiebreaks.

During his Refusenik years, he was once arrested by the KGB for displaying a placard saying "Let us go to Israel" at a chess event.

Beyond Kasparov, Gulko has victories over a who's-who of chess legends, including Karpov, Bronstein, Tal, Smyslov, and Spassky.

Gulko often chose lines specifically to annoy his opponents. Against tactical players, he would bore them; against positional players, he would create chaos.

He was a lifelong expert in the French Defense, using it to defeat Kasparov and hold his own against the world's best 1.e4 players.

He co-authored a book detailing the Soviet system's control over chess and his personal struggle for freedom.

He served as the captain of the US Women's Olympic team, using his deep experience to guide the squad.

Before his troubles began, he won the prestigious Capablanca Memorial in Cuba in 1976.

His book series "Lessons with a Grandmaster" (written with Dr. Joel Sneed) is praised for explaining the thought process of a GM in understandable terms.

At the 1977 USSR Championship, he showed immense resilience to come back from a slow start and tie for first place.

He moved to the United States in 1986 and immediately transformed the American chess scene, bringing deep Soviet professionalism with him.

In one of the strongest tournaments of all time, Gulko played brilliantly, scoring his famous win vs Kasparov.

He performed exceptionally well in the PCA rapid events of the mid-90s, showing he could adapt to faster time controls.

His wife is also a champion, having won the US Women's Championship with a perfect score of 9/9—a unique family record.

Gulko often avoided the absolute main lines of openings, preferring positions where understanding mattered more than memorization.

He is a devout practitioner of Judaism, which he says helped him survive the psychological pressure of the Soviet authorities.

Boris Gulko remains a symbol of intellectual freedom, proving that one can stand up to a totalitarian regime and still triumph on the chessboard.