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Nona Gaprindashvili

Nona Gaprindashvili of Georgia was women's world chess champion for sixteen years, from 1962 to 1978. In 1978 she became the first woman to receive the title of grandmaster. Her success led many girls in Georgia to take up chess.

Nona Gaprindashvili
Photo: Jack de Nijs / Anefo, Nationaal Archief, 1963. Free to use (CC0 1.0). Cropped and toned.
  • BornMay 3, 1941, Zugdidi, Georgia
  • CountrySoviet Union, later Georgia
  • Women's world champion1962–1978
  • In the line of women's championsNo. 5 of 17
  • Highest rating2495 (July 1987)
    After FIDE raised most active women's ratings by 100 points in 1987
    FIDE's official lists (from July 1971)

The road to the title

Gaprindashvili was born in 1941 in Zugdidi in western Georgia and moved to Tbilisi as a young girl to train. In 1961 she won the women's Candidates tournament, and in 1962 she beat the reigning champion, Elisaveta Bykova, 9–2, without losing a single game.

The title matches

Gaprindashvili's points come first, then wins (+), losses (−) and draws (=) in the classical games. A tiebreak at faster time controls is given separately.
YearAgainstResultWhere
1962Elisaveta Bykova9–2 (+7 −0 =4)
Won the title		Moscow
1965Alla Kushnir8½–4½ (+7 −3 =3)
Kept the title		Riga
1969Alla Kushnir8½–4½ (+6 −2 =5)
Kept the title		Tbilisi and Moscow
1972Alla Kushnir8½–7½ (+5 −4 =7)
Kept the title		Riga
1975Nana Alexandria8½–3½ (+8 −3 =1)
Kept the title		Pitsunda and Tbilisi
1978Maia Chiburdanidze6½–8½ (+2 −4 =9)
Lost the title		the Georgian SSR, Soviet Union

Sixteen years as champion

Gaprindashvili defended her title four times: three times against Alla Kushnir, in 1965, 1969, and 1972, and once against Nana Alexandria in 1975. The third match against Kushnir was the closest and ended 8½–7½.

In 1978 she lost the title to Maia Chiburdanidze, who was only 17.

Against the men

Gaprindashvili deliberately sought out tournaments against men, to test herself against the best. In 1977 she shared first place in a strong tournament at Lone Pine in the United States, and there, as the first woman to do so, she made a result that counted toward the grandmaster title. The following year FIDE gave her the title, the first woman to receive it.

Afterward

Gaprindashvili played for the Soviet Union in eleven Women's Chess Olympiads and later for Georgia. She won the Soviet women's championship five times, and she has kept playing late in life. In time Georgia became one of the strongest countries in women's chess.

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Nona Gaprindashvili
  • Store norske leksikon: Nona Gaprindasjvili
  • Chess.com: Nona Gaprindashvili
  • OlimpBase: the title matches 1962–1978 and FIDE's lists
  • FIDE: Gaprindashvili's profile and rating history

The facts on this page come from the sources above, checked against each other. Where the sources disagree, only what they agree on is given. The match results are also checked game by game.

Updated November 8, 2026