Maia Chiburdanidze
Encyclopedia
Maia Chiburdanidze is a Georgian
chess
grandmaster, and the seventh (and then youngest) Women's World Chess Champion. She is the only chess player in history who has won nine Chess Olympiad
s.
Chiburdanidze's FIDE Elo rating is 2502, making her the 14th highest rated female player in the world.
, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR
and started playing chess around the age of eight. She became the USSR girls' champion in 1976 and a year later she won the women's title
. In 1977 she was awarded the title of International Women's Grandmaster.
She won outright on her debut at the Braşov
women's international tournament of 1974 when she was only 13 years old and went on to win another tournament in Tbilisi
in 1975 before entering the women's world championship cycle of 1976/77.
Her style of play is solid, but aggressive and well grounded in classical principles; it was influenced by Eduard Gufeld
, a top Soviet trainer, who was her coach early in her career.
Women's Interzonal
(1976), thereby qualifying for the 1977 candidates matches. She advanced through to the Candidates Final, where she beat Alla Kushnir
by 7½-6½ to set up a world title match in Pitsunda
, Georgia
, against Nona Gaprindashvili
, the reigning women's world champion. Chiburdanidze defeated Gaprindashvili by 8½-6½.
She successfully defended her title four times. In 1981 she drew a tough match 8-8 against Nana Alexandria
, in Borjomi
/Tbilisi
, but kept the title as Champion. Three years later she played Irina Levitina
in Volgograd
, Russia and won convincingly by 8½-5½. The next defense came against Elena Akhmilovskaya in Sofia
in 1986, and Chiburdanidze won the match by 8½-5½. In 1988 she retained her title again by narrowly winning a match in Telavi
, Georgia against Nana Ioseliani
by 8½-7½.
She was awarded the grandmaster title in 1984. She was the second woman, after Gaprindashvili, to be awarded the title.
of China
won the right to challenge for the world championship in February 1991. Chiburdanidze lost her crown to the young Chinese player in Manila
by 8½-6½. Her reign was the third longest, at 14 years, behind only that of the first women's champion, Vera Menchik
, who reigned for 17 years from 1927 until her death in 1944, and that of Gaprindashvili's 16 years.
She has attempted to regain the world title but, with the rise of the Chinese women and the formidable Polgár sisters, this has proved difficult and her best performance since 1991 has been 1st in the Tilburg Candidates tournament of 1994, losing the playoff to Zsuzsa Polgár by 5½-1½. Subsequently, despite not approving of the knockout format, she has entered the world championships of recent years. She reached the semi-finals in 2001, only to be knocked out by Zhu Chen
of China, who went on to win the title. In 2004 she again reached the semi-finals where she lost to Antoaneta Stefanova
who went on to win the title.
Chiburdanidze, like many of the top women players, is not too impressed with 'women's chess' in general and she prefers to play chess with men. She has played extensively in men's tournaments around the world and her best form was seen in the 1980s and early 1990s. She was 1st in tournaments in New Delhi
(1984) and Banja Luka
(1985) and in the next decade she finished 1st in Belgrade
(1992), Vienna
(1993) and in Lippstadt
(1995).
She was a key member of the USSR team that dominated the women's Olympiads of the 1980s and, when Georgia achieved independence from the Soviet Union
in 1990, she played board 1 for the new Georgian national team that won four gold medals, in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2008.
She also played in the European Team Championships of 1997 when Georgia won the gold medal and in the 1st Europe v Asia Intercontinental rapidplay match which was held in Batumi
(Georgia) in September 2001. Asia won the women's section by 21½-10½ with Maia contributing 3½.
In 2008 Drezden Olympiad, she played on board 1, for Georgia, that won the gold medal (1st place),
and she also won gold medal for best performance (2715 pt).
issued a commemorative stamp in 1986 which illustrates a position in one of her games from the 1984 world championship match against Irina Levitina
.
Maia Chiburdanidze is one of several women from the country who have excelled at the highest levels of chess. She has helped to further boost the standing of the game in her country, where she, and the other top Georgian women, are fêted like film stars.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster, and the seventh (and then youngest) Women's World Chess Champion. She is the only chess player in history who has won nine Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s.
Chiburdanidze's FIDE Elo rating is 2502, making her the 14th highest rated female player in the world.
Early life
Maia Chiburdanidze was born in KutaisiKutaisi
Kutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:...
, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and started playing chess around the age of eight. She became the USSR girls' champion in 1976 and a year later she won the women's title
Women's Soviet Chess Championship
The Women's Soviet Chess Championship was played in the Soviet Union from 1927 through 1989 to determine the women's chess national champion.-List of winners:Winners of more titles* 5 titles : Valentina Borisenko, Nona Gaprindashvili...
. In 1977 she was awarded the title of International Women's Grandmaster.
She won outright on her debut at the Braşov
Brasov
Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....
women's international tournament of 1974 when she was only 13 years old and went on to win another tournament in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
in 1975 before entering the women's world championship cycle of 1976/77.
Her style of play is solid, but aggressive and well grounded in classical principles; it was influenced by Eduard Gufeld
Eduard Gufeld
Eduard Yefimovich Gufeld was a Soviet International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess author.By the late 1950s he established himself as one of the strongest players in the world...
, a top Soviet trainer, who was her coach early in her career.
Women's World Champion (1978-91)
Chiburdanidze finished 2nd in the TbilisiTbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
Women's Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
(1976), thereby qualifying for the 1977 candidates matches. She advanced through to the Candidates Final, where she beat Alla Kushnir
Alla Kushnir
Alla Shulimovna Kushnir is a Russian–born Israeli chess Woman Grandmaster.Kushnir was thrice Women's World Chess Championship Challenger. She lost matches for the title to Nona Gaprindashvili:* +3 –7 =3 at Riga 1965;* +2 –6 =5 at Tbilisi–Moscow 1969;...
by 7½-6½ to set up a world title match in Pitsunda
Pitsunda
Pitsunda is a resort town in Gagra district of Abkhazia.The town was founded by the Greeks in the 5th century BC as a trade colony Pityus or Pitiunt. Excavations guided by Andria Apakidze unearthed remains of three 4th-century churches and a bath with superb mosaic floors...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, against Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess player, the sixth women's world chess champion , and first female Grandmaster. Born in Zugdidi, Georgia , she was the strongest female player of her generation....
, the reigning women's world champion. Chiburdanidze defeated Gaprindashvili by 8½-6½.
She successfully defended her title four times. In 1981 she drew a tough match 8-8 against Nana Alexandria
Nana Alexandria
Nana Alexandria is a Georgian chess Woman Grandmaster and International Arbiter . She was the challenger in two matches for the Women's World Chess Championship....
, in Borjomi
Borjomi
Borjomi is a resort town in south-central Georgia with a population estimated at 14,445. It is one of the districts of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern part of the region in the picturesque Borjomi Gorge on the eastern edge of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park...
/Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, but kept the title as Champion. Three years later she played Irina Levitina
Irina Levitina
Irina Solomonovna Levitina is a Russian-American chess and bridge player. In chess, she has been a World Championship Candidate and gained the title Woman Grandmaster. In contract bridge she has been five times the World Champion.-Chess career:In 1973, she tied for 2nd-5th in Menorca...
in Volgograd
Volgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
, Russia and won convincingly by 8½-5½. The next defense came against Elena Akhmilovskaya in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
in 1986, and Chiburdanidze won the match by 8½-5½. In 1988 she retained her title again by narrowly winning a match in Telavi
Telavi
Telavi is the main city and administrative center of Georgia's eastern province of Kakheti. Its population consists of some 21,800 inhabitants . The city is located on foot-hills of Tsiv-Gombori Range at 500-800 meters above the sea level....
, Georgia against Nana Ioseliani
Nana Ioseliani
Nana Mikhailovna Ioseliani is a Georgian woman chess player. She has held the FIDE Woman Grandmaster title since 1980, and the International Master title since 1993....
by 8½-7½.
She was awarded the grandmaster title in 1984. She was the second woman, after Gaprindashvili, to be awarded the title.
Losing the title
Xie JunXie Jun
Xie Jun is a chess grandmaster from China. She had two reigns as Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 and again from 1999 to 2001. Xie is only the second woman to have two reigns, the other being Elisabeth Bykova....
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
won the right to challenge for the world championship in February 1991. Chiburdanidze lost her crown to the young Chinese player in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
by 8½-6½. Her reign was the third longest, at 14 years, behind only that of the first women's champion, Vera Menchik
Vera Menchik
Vera Menchik was a British-Czech chess player who gained renown as the world's first women's chess champion. She also competed in chess tournaments with some of the world's leading male chess masters, defeating many of them, including future World Champion Max Euwe.The daughter of a Czech father...
, who reigned for 17 years from 1927 until her death in 1944, and that of Gaprindashvili's 16 years.
She has attempted to regain the world title but, with the rise of the Chinese women and the formidable Polgár sisters, this has proved difficult and her best performance since 1991 has been 1st in the Tilburg Candidates tournament of 1994, losing the playoff to Zsuzsa Polgár by 5½-1½. Subsequently, despite not approving of the knockout format, she has entered the world championships of recent years. She reached the semi-finals in 2001, only to be knocked out by Zhu Chen
Zhu Chen
Zhu Chen is a chess Grandmaster. In 2001, she became China's second women's world chess champion after Xie Jun, and China's 13th Grandmaster.She today plays for Qatar.-Biography:...
of China, who went on to win the title. In 2004 she again reached the semi-finals where she lost to Antoaneta Stefanova
Antoaneta Stefanova
Antoaneta Stefanova is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster, and a former Women's World Chess Champion. She became the twelfth holder of that title in 2004 in a 64-player knockout tournament held in Elista, Kalmykia under the auspices of FIDE....
who went on to win the title.
Other chess achievements
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
(1984) and Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
(1985) and in the next decade she finished 1st in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
(1992), Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(1993) and in Lippstadt
Lippstadt
Lippstadt is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest.-Geography:Lippstadt is situated in the Lippe valley, roughly 70 kilometres east of Dortmund and roughly 30 kilometres west of Paderborn...
(1995).
She was a key member of the USSR team that dominated the women's Olympiads of the 1980s and, when Georgia achieved independence from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1990, she played board 1 for the new Georgian national team that won four gold medals, in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2008.
She also played in the European Team Championships of 1997 when Georgia won the gold medal and in the 1st Europe v Asia Intercontinental rapidplay match which was held in Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
(Georgia) in September 2001. Asia won the women's section by 21½-10½ with Maia contributing 3½.
In 2008 Drezden Olympiad, she played on board 1, for Georgia, that won the gold medal (1st place),
and she also won gold medal for best performance (2715 pt).
Other
She has been honoured many times by her country and several postage stamps have even been designed to celebrate her chess achievements. MongoliaMongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
issued a commemorative stamp in 1986 which illustrates a position in one of her games from the 1984 world championship match against Irina Levitina
Irina Levitina
Irina Solomonovna Levitina is a Russian-American chess and bridge player. In chess, she has been a World Championship Candidate and gained the title Woman Grandmaster. In contract bridge she has been five times the World Champion.-Chess career:In 1973, she tied for 2nd-5th in Menorca...
.
Maia Chiburdanidze is one of several women from the country who have excelled at the highest levels of chess. She has helped to further boost the standing of the game in her country, where she, and the other top Georgian women, are fêted like film stars.