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Happened Today in the Chess World - May 3, 2024

NONA, THE FIRST

GM Nona Gaprindashvili

Today is the birthday of Nona Gaprindashvili, the former women's world chess champion, who was born in Zugdidi, Georgia, on May 3rd, 1941.
Initially trained by Karseladze, then by Shishov, and by GMs Gurgenidze, Gipslis, and Rashkovsky, Nona was the first woman to hold the title of Grandmaster, thanks to her victory in the prestigious Lone Pine Open in 1978.
Nona was the women's world champion continuously from 1962 to 1978. She has won a total of twelve Olympiads, eleven with the Soviet Union (of which she was a five-time women's champion) and one for Georgia.
She has also claimed eight senior women's titles, the most recent of which was in 2022! A frequent participant in Italian tournaments, she won the Reggio Emilia New Year's Tournament in the 1982/83 edition.

Nona Gaprindashvili-Alexander Blagidze, Georgian Absolute Championship, 1963
White to move