35 Facts About Nona Gaprindashvili

Nona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess Grandmaster.

Nona Gaprindashvili was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Presidential Order of Excellence in 2015.

Nona Gaprindashvili successfully defended her title on four occasions: three times against Alla Kushnir and st Nana Alexandria.

Nona Gaprindashvili narrowly lost her title to Maia Chiburdanidze in 1978.

Nona Gaprindashvili participated in men's tournaments during her career, including a performance at Lone Pine International which earned her the title of Grandmaster.

Nona Gaprindashvili later competed regularly in the Women's World Senior Championship.

Besides her chess career, Nona Gaprindashvili maintained an active presence in Georgian politics: she served as a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR, as president of the Georgian National Olympic Committee, and as a member of the People's Assembly group that organized the 2011 Georgian protests.

In 2021, Nona Gaprindashvili filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix after it erroneously described her in The Queen's Gambit as never having competed against men; Netflix settled in 2022.

Nona Gaprindashvili was born in Zugdidi in 1941, the youngest of six children and the only girl.

Nona Gaprindashvili's family was highly athletic, and the neighborhood children would often gather at the Gaprindashvili's home to play table tennis, billiards, and football.

Nona Gaprindashvili first learned to play chess from her father while she was five years old and from watching her brother play.

When Nona Gaprindashvili was eleven or twelve, she accompanied her brother to a chess tournament, and when he was unable to play, she played in his stead.

Nona Gaprindashvili's parents had her live with her aunt in Tbilisi, where she could train with chess Grandmasters beginning in 1954.

Nona Gaprindashvili won the Women's Candidates Tournament in 1961, making her eligible to challenge Elisaveta Bykova, the reigning world champion in women's chess.

Nona Gaprindashvili won the 1962 match against Bykova with a large victory of nine points against Bykova's two.

Nona Gaprindashvili's victory marked the beginning of a "women's chess revolution" in Georgia.

Nona Gaprindashvili went on to defend her title successfully three times against the Soviet player Alla Kushnir.

In 1975, Nona Gaprindashvili was challenged by the Georgian player Nana Alexandria.

The competition between the two Georgians was widely followed in their home country; Nona Gaprindashvili won with 8.5 points against Alexandria's 3.5.

Nona Gaprindashvili tied for second place at Sandomierz in 1976, tied for first place at Lone Pine International in 1977, and tied for second at the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting in 1978.

At the meeting of the FIDE Congress in 1978, Nona Gaprindashvili was awarded the title of Grandmaster, although the normal requirement was three norms totaling 24 games.

Nona Gaprindashvili considers her Lone Pine performance and her subsequent awarding of Grandmaster to be her greatest achievement in chess.

Nona Gaprindashvili played for the Soviet Union in the Women's Chess Olympiads of 1963,1966,1969,1972,1974,1978,1980,1982,1984,1986,1990, and for Georgia in 1992.

Nona Gaprindashvili was one of the contributing players of the Soviet Union team that dominated the Women's Olympiads of the 1980s.

Nona Gaprindashvili won 25 medals, including eleven team gold medals and nine individual gold medals.

Nona Gaprindashvili achieved her peak FIDE rating of 2495 in July 1987.

Nona Gaprindashvili went on to train young female chess players, including Ana Matnadze and Tea Lanchava.

Besides chess, Nona Gaprindashvili was active politically, serving as a member of the Soviet Parliament of Georgia.

Nona Gaprindashvili then served as president of the Georgian National Olympic Committee from 1989 to 1996.

Nona Gaprindashvili was active in the protests against President Eduard Shevardnadze in 2002.

Nona Gaprindashvili was then among the most prominent members of the People's Assembly, a political opposition movement that protested the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili.

Nona Gaprindashvili has been noted for her competitiveness and aggressive playing style.

Nona Gaprindashvili has expressed an appreciation for the fact that arbitrators do not have a significant role in chess, having seen problems in other sports.

Nona Gaprindashvili has said that she does not like to compare chess players, as she sees each chess player as having their own body of work rather than a single factor that can be compared.

Nona Gaprindashvili was awarded the Presidential Order of Excellence in 2015 by President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili for "her outstanding contribution to the country and nation" and "representing Georgia at an international level".