Nona Gaprindashvili
Notable Games

Nona Gaprindashvili

18 celebrated games · 864 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 864 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1961 Lazarevic, Milunka vsGaprindashvili, Nona 0-1 Bird Opening 32 moves Vrnjacka Banja ct (Women) Candidates Tournament, Vrnjačka Banja 1961, which Gaprindashvili won undefeated and two points clear to earn a match with the Women's World Champion. Against Milunka Lazarević she gives up the rook on b8 with 25...Qe3 26.Qxb8 Qxe2+, and after 30...Qf2 and 32...Ne3 Lazarević resigns.
  • 1962 Bykova, Elisaveta I vsGaprindashvili, Nona 0-1 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Pilnik Variation 45 moves World-ch (Women) Women's World Championship match, Moscow 1962, game 11, the last of the match, in which Gaprindashvili took the title from Elisaveta Bykova 9–2 without losing a game. With Black in the Closed Ruy Lopez, 21...Bxf3 22.gxf3 breaks up the white kingside, the black king walks from h6 to f4, and 41...Nxf3 wins a pawn. She later recalled that Bykova resigned the adjourned position by telephone.
  • 1964.01.08 Baretic, Dragoljub vsGaprindashvili, Nona 0-1 Modern Defense 52 moves Christmas Congress 1963/64-39Challenger Hastings Challengers 1963/64, final round, against Dragoljub Baretic. Gaprindashvili tied for first with Ove Kinnmark on 6½/9 and took the place in the next year's Premier on tiebreak. 25...Rd4 gives up the exchange, 44...f3+ and 46...Rf2+ break through, and Baretic resigns after 52...e4.
  • 1965.01.01 Mardle, Denis Victor vsGaprindashvili, Nona 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation 14 moves Christmas Congress 1964/65-40 Premier Hastings Premier 1964/65, where Gaprindashvili, the first woman in the Premier since Vera Menchik in 1936, scored 5/9 for fifth place and beat all four British players. Against Denis Mardle, 12...Qf6 leaves the rook on f8, and after 13.Bxf8 Be3+ 14.Kh1 Ng3+ Mardle resigns in 14 moves, since 15.hxg3 Qh6 is mate.
  • 1965 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsKushnir, Alla 1-0 Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation 32 moves World-ch (Women) Women's World Championship match, Riga 1965, game 8, the first of her three title defenses against Alla Kushnir, won 8½–4½. In the Rubinstein Variation of the Four Knights, 21.Bxf4 exf4 22.Qxf4 wins a pawn, and 30.Nf5+, 31.Nxd6 and 32.Nxf7 take two more. Kushnir resigns after 32 moves.
  • 1969 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsKushnir, Alla 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line 37 moves World-ch (Women) Women's World Championship match 1969, game 10, against Kushnir again; Gaprindashvili kept the title 8½–4½. 18.Nd5 exd5 19.cxd5 gives up a knight, 20.b4 and 21.bxc5 win a piece back, and after 33.exd6 Kushnir resigns at move 37.
  • 1972 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsKushnir, Alla 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Modern Variation 28 moves World-ch (Women) Women's World Championship match, Riga 1972, game 1, against Kushnir in the closest of her title defenses, won 8½–7½. The white king goes to d2 at move 17, 19.Bxg7 and 20.Bxf8 win the exchange, and 23.Rg8+ Kf7 24.Rg7+ Kxg7 25.Ne8+ wins the black queen. Kushnir resigns after 28.Kc3.
  • 1974.05.05 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsServaty, Rudolf 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind, Breyer Variation 17 moves Dortmunder Schachtage-02 Dortmund 1974 against Rudolf Servaty. In the Accelerated Dragon, 7...Ng4 8.Qxg4 Nxd4 sends the black queen after pawns on e4 and g2 and then both white rooks with 15...Qxh1+ and 16...Qxa1, but after 17.Qf6, with the white bishop on g7, Servaty resigns in 17 moves.
  • 1975 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsAlexandria, Nana 1-0 Vienna Game: Mieses Variation 32 moves World-ch (Women) Women's World Championship match 1975, game 3, against her fellow Georgian Nana Alexandria; Gaprindashvili kept the title 8½–3½. In the Vienna, 26.g5, 27.g6 and 29.Qxg6 open the black king, and Alexandria resigns after 31.Rf7 and 32.Ref2.
  • 1977.03.27 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsShamkovich, Leonid Alexandrovich 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Modern Variation 47 moves Lone Pine op Louis D. Statham Masters Lone Pine 1977, round seven, against the grandmaster Leonid Shamkovich. White leaves the knight on g5 with 24.bxc5 hxg5 25.Bxg5, the new c-pawn runs to c7, and 39.Rxf7 and 40.Rxg7+ Kxg7 41.Qxe4 break up the black king. Shamkovich resigns after 47.Qg3+.
  • 1977.03.30 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsPeters, Jack 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Open 64 moves Lone Pine op Louis D. Statham Masters Lone Pine 1977, final round, against Jack Peters. The win brought Gaprindashvili level with Yuri Balashov, Oscar Panno and Dragutin Sahović on 6½/9 in a four-way tie for first and made her the first woman to earn a grandmaster norm. 24.fxe6 and 25.exf7+ put a white pawn on f7, and in the rook ending after 59.Rxg5+ Kxg5 60.Rxe5+ Peters resigns at move 64.
  • 1978.04.15 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsAndersson, Ulf 1-0 Caro-Kann Defense: Forgacs Variation 37 moves Dortmunder Schachtage-06 Dortmund 1978, where Gaprindashvili tied for second, against the Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson. The queens come off at move 11. In the ending 31.Nd5+ and 34.cxb5+ Kxd5 give up the knight for the queenside pawns, 35.bxa6 and 36.a7 follow, and Andersson resigns after 37.b5.
  • 1978 Chiburdanidze, Maia vsGaprindashvili, Nona 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Early Deviations 40 moves World-ch (Women) Women's World Championship match 1978, game 11, against the seventeen-year-old Maia Chiburdanidze, who won the match 8½–6½ and held the title until 1991. With Black, 31...Nd2 32.Rxd2 b3 33.Qxb3 Qxd2 wins the exchange, and 36...Rxc2 and 37...Rxe1+ lead to a rook-against-bishop ending; Chiburdanidze resigns after 40...fxe6.
  • 1979.01.19 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsNikolac, Juraj 1-0 Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation 24 moves Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee 1979, round one, against Juraj Nikolac. In the Classical Caro-Kann, 19.Nxg7 Kxg7 20.Bxh6+ Kxh6 21.Nxf7+ gives up two pieces and drives the black king up the board: 21...Kxh5 22.g4+ Kh4 23.f3, and Nikolac resigns after 24.Re4.
  • 1990 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsXie, Jun 1-0 King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Geller Defense 31 moves Kuala Lumpur Interzonal (Women) Kuala Lumpur Interzonal 1990 against Xie Jun, who took the Women's World Championship from Chiburdanidze the next year. 15.d6 and 25.d7 bring the d-pawn to the seventh rank, 26.Ne6 and 27.Nxd8 win the exchange, and Xie Jun resigns after 31.Qc7.
  • 1990.11.20 Polgar, Judit vsGaprindashvili, Nona 0-1 Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Variation 31 moves Olympiad Women-29 Women's Olympiad, Novi Sad 1990, against the fourteen-year-old Judit Polgar, later widely regarded as the strongest woman player of all time. With Black in the Petrov, 17...Ng4 18.fxg4 Bxg4 gives up a knight, 19...Bxd4+ and 20...gxf4 win the material back, and 27...Rxg3 and 31...Rc3 finish the game.
  • 1992 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsChiburdanidze, Maia 1-0 Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 34 moves Candidates (Women) Candidates Tournament, Shanghai 1992, against the former Women's World Champion Maia Chiburdanidze. 29.Qxd8+ Bxd8 30.Rxd8+ gives the queen for a rook and bishop, and 33.Bxg7+ Kxg7 34.Nh5+ forks the black king and queen.
  • 2005.09.04 Gaprindashvili, Nona vsAfek, Yochanan 1-0 King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Carlsbad Variation 38 moves Haarlem BDO-A Haarlem 2005, final round, against Yochanan Afek. At sixty-four Gaprindashvili won the BDO tournament with 6½/9 and a performance rating of 2510. 30.R7xd4 Bxd4 31.Bf6+ gives up the exchange to open the black king, the queen takes on g6 and h6, and Afek resigns after 38.Qg5+.
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