Georgian player surprises chess world champion at Qatar competition

A Georgian chess player played a sensational match that ended in a draw against the current world champion at the Masters Open tournament in Qatar.

In the first round of the competition Georgia’s Nino Batsiashvili, 28, earned the same points as Norwegian player Magnus Carlsen, 25, who is the highest-rated player in the sport's history.

Sunday’s match saw both players test their abilities however it was the Georgian who received immense praise following the tie, with sport insiders claiming it was a remarkable result considering the credentials of her opponent.

Carlsen has 2,834 rating points and was often described as a chess prodigy after he became the youngest ever player to achieve the world No. 1 ranking in 2013. He topped the all-time highest ratings and was at the top of rankings at the Qatar tournament as well.

Batshiashvili and Carlsen’s game ended in a draw, to which commentators praised the Georgian for her "perfect calculation". Photo by Katerina Savina.

But Batsiashvili was not intimidated by Carlsen’s status.

The Georgian Women’s Chess champion, who has 2,498 rating points and ranked No. 67 in the competition, told tournament officials she was happy to meet Carlsen as the practice would be "good for me and my chess".

Batsiashvili maintained her calm demeanour throughout the game, which was noted by reviewers of the competition and later confirmed by the Georgian herself:

[I was just] playing my moves and not worried about who I was playing," Batsiashvili said while commenting on the result.

Reviews said the 56-move match culminated in the "perfect calculation" by the Georgian, who holds the International Master and Woman Grand Master titles.

After the match Batsiashvili played in the second round of the Qatar tournament and was defeated by India's Pendyala Harikrishna, who ranked No. 9 in the competition.

The 2015 Qatar Masters Open opened on December 19 and will feature nine rounds of matches before concluding on December 29. The competition featured 132 top players from around the world, all competing for a share of the $130,000 prize fund.

Later today Batsiashvili is scheduled to face England's Haria Ravi in the third round. Three other Georgian chess players are also involved in matches.

Batsiashvili was born in Georgia's seaside city Batumi. She has developed into Georgia’s top female chess player and has won a number of international chess tournaments from 2012-2015.

A member of the Georgian national team that claimed the gold in the 2015 Women's World Team Chess Championship in China, Batsiashvili also claimed silver at the Women's European Individual Chess Championship earlier this year.