No Nonsense Nona

Revisiting an uncompromising world champion

The Queen’s Gambit got a lot of things right, but it made a big misstep when it came to Nona Gaprindashvili, having a commentator say, “she's the female world champion and has never faced men.” The real Nona Gaprindashvili — grandmaster and women’s world champion from 1962 to 1978 — did play men. Or, to be more accurate, does. At 81 years old, Gaprindashvili continues to compete in open events. She took issue with Netflix’s inaccurate portrayal and filed a lawsuit, which was settled out of court. In a way, it’s unfortunate that the wider world’s introduction to this chess legend came in the form of this legal affair. In another sense, it’s the perfect introduction: Nona doesn’t take shit from anyone.

I recently learned about Gaprindashvili from two exciting new sources, the book Chess Queens by Jennifer Shahade and the Chessable course Queens of the Chess Board by Luciana Morales and Bryan Tillis.

Nona Gaprindashvili was born in 1941 in Zugdidi, a small town in Georgia. Georgia is a small country on the Black Sea. For women in Georgia, chess had traditionally been a pastime enjoyed in the home, but Nona was discovered by a chess coach and moved to the capital where she began serious training. In 1962 she claimed the women’s world championship by defeating Russian champion Elizaveta Bykova 9-2, which has to be one of the most lopsided world championships of any kind in chess history. Gaprindashvili held the world championship for 16 years, finally relinquishing it to Maia Chiburdanidze, one of the next generation of Georgian women she helped inspire.

At the same time (despite what they said in The Queen’s Gambit) she continued to play against men. Her biggest success in an open field came in the Lone Pine tournament in California in 1977, where she tied for first, beating four grandmasters. According to Shahade, the tournament bulletin wrote that she was “constructed more like a bricklayer than a woman.” Pictures of Gaprindashvili do not look bricklayer-ish to me, but even if she did, so what? The bulletin comment reflects a tendency to see Gaprindashvili as a paradox: feminine but strong, small but powerful, reserved but aggressive. In reality there is nothing especially contradictory about any of these qualities, but they did make it harder to pigeonhole her into existing stereotypes.

What has sometimes been lost in all this is Gaprindashvili’s chess itself, which is a shame, because she’s a spectacularly entertaining player. From the very beginning she’s been uncompromising in her aggression and creativity, bringing to mind the attacking world champion Mikhail Tal.

Here is one of her most spectacular wins, played in the Georgian Championship in 1963 against Alexander Blagidze.

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 g6 4. Bb5

An unusual way of playing the Grand Prix. Normally White would start with 4. Nf3, but Gaprindashvili wants to lure the Black knight to d4 first and then exchange it.

4... Nd4 5. Bc4 Bg7 6. Nge2 e6 7. Nxd4 cxd4 8. Ne2 Qh4+?!

A bit overzealous. Black should have focused on developing the minor pieces. 8... b5! 9. Bxb5 Bb7 With two great bishops exerting pressure on the center, Black is doing very well.

9. Ng3!?

The computer doesn't love this, but from a human perspective it makes perfect sense. When your opponent indicates they are interested in making a lot of weird moves to win a pawn, it's often best to give them the pawn and focus on development. 9. g3 was also possible:  9... Qh3 10. Ng1 Qg2 11. Qf3 and the queen will be exchanged with little to show for its efforts.

9... Qxf4 10. d3 Qc7?

He should have prevented White from castling with 10... Qf6

11. O-O

Now White's development is flowing very smoothly.

11... Ne7 12. Bg5

Taking aim at the weak dark squares.

12... Nc6 13. Nh5!

By placing all his pawns on light squares, Blagidze of course knew he was leaving the dark squares weak, but it's precisely on the light squares where Gaprindashvili lands a series of blows.

13... gxh5 14. Rxf7!

Another sacrifice on the light squares! Of course not 14. Qxh5? Ne5 when Black has everything covered.

14... Qe5

The computer shows that Black could still draw with perfect play: 14... h6! 15. Bf4 Be5 16. Qxh5 Kd8 17. Qh4+ Ke8 18. Qh5 and neither side has anything better than repeating. But Blagidze had clearly missed Gaprindashvili’s final, brilliant move.

15. Rf5!!

Black resigned because there is no good way to stop Qxh5+ with mate following shortly.