According to family legend, Khalifman's ancestor was one of the commanders of Russian monitor Rusalka.

[5] Khalifman gained the Grandmaster title in 1990 with one particularly good early result being his first place in the 1990 New York City Open ahead of a host of strong players.

His most notable achievement was winning the FIDE World Championship in 1999, a title he held until the following year.

Khalifman said after the tournament, "Rating systems work perfectly for players who play only in round robin closed events.

"[7] Khalifman played in the Linares chess tournament next year, and performed credibly (though placing below joint winner Kasparov).