Georgia’s chess legend Nona Gaprindashvili turns 82

Georgia’s five-time World Chess Champion and winner of 11 Chess Olympiad tournaments, Nona Gaprindashvili, turned 82 today. Photo: 1TV

Agenda.ge, 03 May 2023 - 12:09, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgia’s five-time World Chess Champion Nona Gaprindashvili turned 82 today, with the country’s officials and enthusiasts of the sport sending their messages on the date to the first woman to be awarded the International Chess Federation’s title of Grandmaster.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili called Gaprindashvili “one of the greatest and most prominent chess players in the world, a Grandmaster, and Georgia’s national pride and joy”.

Praising her “phenomenal talent and hard work”, the PM said Gaprindashvili had introduced her country to the wider world and remained a ”household name” in the sport. 

I wish good health and vigor to [...] this truly great person and patriot who has dedicated her whole life to her homeland”, Garibashvilii said. 

Born in the western Georgian city of Zugdidi in 1941, Gaprindashvili went on to win World Championships in 1962, 1965, 1969, 1972 and 1975, in addition to 11 Chess Olympiad tournaments between 1963-1992. She was recognised with the Grandmaster title in 1978.

She was officially recognised as the greatest Georgian female sportsperson of the 20th Century in 1999, and has served as the Honorary President of Georgia's National Olympic Committee since 1996.

Gaprindashvili has been active in competitions over the recent years, winning the World Senior Chess Championship for players aged above 65 in Bucharest, Romania in 2019.

Her achievements have been recognised in Georgia with public honours, including the naming of Tbilisi's Chess Palace venue after her in 2001, and the state title of the Order of Excellence of Georgia, bestowed on her in 2015.

Gaprindashvili’s achievements in the sport led to her being featured in a number of media productions, including a reference to her in a popular Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit.

In 2021, the Georgian chess legend filed a defamation lawsuit against the company for the reference in an episode of the series, where a remark wrongly said she had “never faced men” during her career.

Netflix settled the dispute with the former multi-World Champion and her legal team last year without the terms of the settlement being disclosed.