Two Georgian chess players have been named among the world’s top 10 female chess players.
Nana Dzagnidze, 27, and Bela Khotenashvili, 27, ranked fourth and 10th respectively in the World Chess Federation’s latest female rating.
Dzagnidze achieved the title of International Grandmaster in 2008. She was the best individual female player during the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway earlier this year.
Khotenashvili, who also holds the title of Grandmaster, was the girls' World Champion under 16, in 2004. In 2009 she won the international women open Maia Chiburdanidze Cup. Since 2009 she is a Georgian National team member.
She was second with the Georgian national team in the European Women Team Championship 2009 and again was third In the Chess Olympiad 2010. She was third in the World women team championship 2011. She won the Georgian Women's Chess Championship in 2012.
The World Chess Federation updated its ratings of the world's top 100 female and male players today.
Dzagnidze ranked fourth in the previous rating too, while Khotenashvili placed 16th then.
Seven other Georgian female players made the list. They were: Lela Javakhishvili (21th), Salome Melia (31th), Nino Khurtsidze (37th), Nino Batsiashvili (40nd), Sopiko Guramishvili (93st), Meri Arabidze (94th) and Maia Lomineishvili (97th).
Georgia's male chess players were not as successful as their female counterparts. Baadur Jobava ranked 26st on the list and was the only Georgian male chess player to be named in the list of top 100.