Geller and the World Championship

Kasparov's chapter -- it's really a book in itself -- on Smyslov has a long section on Geller (Predeccessors II, p.295). The 33 pages include nine games and a brief discussion of opening innovations. Kasparov introduces the section on Geller with these words:

Now is the time to break off and remember Efim Petrovich Geller (1925-1998), another chess legend, known for his academic opening erudition and bold attacking style of play. He played six times(!) in the Candidates events, but alas, he did not in fact get through to a main match for the crown. However, he had a positive or equal score against nearly all the World Champions!

The nine games are all examples of Geller's play against World Champions. Kasparov's introduction mentions two little known facts, which I checked.

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First, here's an excerpt from my World Championship page, Index of players (A-G), covering Geller.

Geller E	1952-54 Izt
	1952-54 Cnd
	1955-57 Izt
	1955-57 Cnd
	1961-63 Izt
	1961-63 Cnd
	1964-66 Cnd
	1967-69 Izt
	1967-69 Cnd
	1970-72 Izt
	1970-72 Cnd
	1973-75 Izt
	1976-78 Izt
	1982-84 Izt

'He played six times(!) in the Candidates events' : Check!

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Second, here's Geller's record against the World Champion as given by Chessgames.com. Their Geller page...

Efim Geller
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=15712

... lists his earliest game as 1946 Odessa, so it's sufficient to start checking with Botvinnik.

• Efim Geller beat Mikhail Botvinnik 4 to 1, with 7 draws.
  
• Efim Geller beat Vasily Smyslov 11 to 8, with 36 draws.
  
• Efim Geller tied Mikhail Tal 6 to 6, with 26 draws.
  
• Efim Geller beat Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian 5 to 3, with 35 draws.
  
• Boris Spassky beat Efim Geller 10 to 6, with 23 draws.
  
• Efim Geller beat Robert James Fischer 5 to 3, with 2 draws.
  
• Anatoli Karpov beat Efim Geller 2 to 1, with 6 draws.
  
• Garry Kasparov beat Efim Geller 1 to 0, with 3 draws.

Chessgames.com always warns that the stats are 'Based on games present in our database; may not be complete'. Whether or not it's complete, he certainly 'had a positive or equal score against nearly all the World Champions'. Spassky was his most dangerous opponent among the World Champions.