The people behind the game
Alexander Khalifman
Won the 1999 FIDE knockout championship in Las Vegas.
- Born
- 1966
- Country connections
- Russia
At the board
The games. The ideas.
Explore classic encounters and championship battles. Play every move, or jump straight to the moments that tell the story.
1999 · FIDE world championship · Final · game 4
Khalifman takes the lead
Khalifman wins the fourth game of the 1999 FIDE knockout final. His kingside pawns become the decisive source of threats.
Read the position
Every move sets the scene.
Use the controls to explore the full game, or select an annotated moment below. Each explanation describes the position immediately after its highlighted move.
Complete move list 61 moves
The journey
A remarkable path.
Khalifman received the grandmaster title in 1990. His 1999 championship victory came during the period when FIDE and the classical championship operated separately. He is also known as a chess author. [1]
Explore the championship record →The championship record
Time with the crown.
- 1999–2000FIDE world championship · split era
Reigns are periods of title ownership, not a count of championship victories. Open-ended reigns reflect the record checked on 18 October 2026.
Sources & credits
Biographical details and title records checked . Country connections describe the player’s career and background, rather than a live federation listing.
Portrait: Stefan64 (selbst fotografiert 1994, GNU-FDL) · CC BY-SA 3.0. Displayed in monochrome and cropped.
