Glory to the Queen

In the middle of the Cold War, four female Georgian stars revolutionized the male-dominated chess world and became icons of female emancipation. Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze, Nana Alexandria and Nana Iosseliani lit up the eyes of almost all chess aficionados. As top players, they dominated the chess scene from the early 1960s until the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. For thirty consecutive years they brought the world title to Georgia. Nona Gaprindashvili became the first woman in the world to win the prestigious Grandmaster title. Then the unexpected happened - she was knocked off the throne by Maia Chiburdanidze, who was only 17.