Sopiko Guramishvili

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sopiko Guramishvili
Guramishvili in 2017
Born (1991-01-01) 1 January 1991 (age 33)
Tbilisi, Georgian SSR,
Soviet Union
Spouse
Woman Grandmaster (2009)
FIDE rating2383 (March 2020)
Peak rating2441 (November 2013)

Sopiko Guramishvili (

FIDE rating
of 2441 and has been ranked as high as No. 42 in the world among women.

Guramishvili began playing chess at age five. She regularly qualified for and participated in the World Youth Chess Championships from age ten onwards. She won a silver medal in the under-12 girls' division in 2003 and a gold medal in the under-16 girls' division in 2006. Guramishvili first qualified for the Georgian Women's Chess Championship at age 17. Her best finish was in 2009, when she came in joint second place and earned a WGM norm. Guramishvili was awarded the WGM title in 2009 at age 18 and the IM title in 2012 at age 21. She earned her last IM norm at the 2011 Nakhchivan Open, during which she defeated Sergey Fedorchuk, a Ukrainian Grandmaster (GM) rated 2662. Guramishvili has routinely performed well at the European Individual Women's Chess Championship, earning a double IM norm in 2010 and twice qualifying for the Women's World Chess Championship 64-player knockout tournament because of her 2013 and 2015 results. At the 2017 Women's World Championship, she eliminated higher-seeded Sarasadat Khademalsharieh and reached the round of 16. Guramishvili had her two best tournament performance ratings in 2016, with a career-best of 2509 at the Tata Steel Tienkamp.

Beyond competing at chess, Guramishvili has developed online courses and other instructional videos, in particular for

2014 World Chess Championship match. Guramishvili is married to Anish Giri
, a Dutch Grandmaster who has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world.

Early life and background

Sopiko Guramishvili was born on 1 January 1991 in

draughts. After she was more intrigued by the chess pieces that weren't being used, her mother taught her the game.[1] Guramishvili first qualified for the World Youth Chess Championships in 2001 in Oropesa del Mar at age ten. She finished in equal ninth out of 70 competitors in the under-10 girls' division with a score of a score of 7 points in 11 games (7/11),[a] three points behind the winner Tan Zhongyi.[3]

Chess career

2002–06: Under-16 World Champion

Guramishvili first earned a

Woman FIDE Master (WFM) title. That year, she finished on the podium in the under-12 girls' division at both the European Youth and World Youth Chess Championships. At the former in Budva, Montenegro, she earned a bronze medal with a score of 7/9, tied with Elena Tairova and behind only Anastasia Bodnaruk, having lost to both of them.[5][6] She fared better at the latter tournament in Kallithea in Greece, earning a silver medal. With a score of 8½/11, she finished ahead of Tan only on the tiebreak criteria and was runner-up to Ding Yixin, having won her games against Tan, Tairova, and Bodnaruk, but losing to Ding.[7] Guramishvili moved up to the under-14 girls' division the following year, but had less success. Over the next two years, her best result in this division came at the 2004 World Championships, where she finished in equal fourth place.[8][9][10]

After more than three years with a steady rating just below 2150, Guramishvili reached a new peak rating of 2180 in April 2006 with a strong performance at the qualification tournament for the Georgian Women's Chess Championship.[11] She scored 5½/9, a point behind joint first place finishers Sopiko Khukhashvili and Tamar Tsereteli. Although she narrowly did not qualify because of the tiebreak criteria, she gained 31 rating points.[12][13] Guramishvili finished the year with a redeeming performance at the World Youth Chess Championships, which were hosted by her home country in Batumi. Despite an opening round loss to a much lower-rated player, she recovered to dominate the rest of the under-16 girls' event with wins in nine of her last ten games. She finished with 9½/11, winning the division easily by 1½ points.[14][15] She also reached a rating of 2200 for the first time.[4] This win was part of a stretch where Georgia won the gold medal in the under-16 girls' division seven out of ten times from 1999 through 2008.[16]

2007–09: Woman Grandmaster title

Guramishvili in 2009

Guramishvili consolidated her 2006 World Championship gold medal with another strong year in 2007, gaining about another 100 rating points and earning her first

Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title.[4][17] Early in the year, she fared well at both the Georgian under-18 boys' championship[b] and the qualification tournament for the open Georgian Chess Championship, helping her climb to a rating of 2267.[18] A few months later, she also performed well at the Georgian under-20 boys' championship.[19] Guramishvili's first WGM norm came in early September at the Open Internacional D'Escacs de Sants in Barcelona.[17] She scored 6½/10 for a performance rating of 2400.[20] This result also helped her reach a rating of 2300, the threshold for the WGM title, for the first time.[4] At the end of year in Antalya in Turkey, Guramishvili attempted to defend her under-16 girls' world championship, but finished a ½ point behind the four leaders. The tournament was won by her compatriot Keti Tsatsalashvili.[21]

One of Guramishvili's biggest achievements in 2008 was qualifying for the Georgian Women's Chess Championship for the first time, finishing in equal second with a score of 6½/9 in the qualification tournament.

round robin, she finished in the middle of the field with 5½/12,[c] a result consistent with her rating.[23][24] She qualified for the Women's Championship again in 2009. With only 12 players in the field, she had a much better result, finishing in equal second with four other players who scored 6½/11, a ½ point behind the winner Maia Lomineishvili.[25] Moreover, she earned her second WGM norm.[17] Guramishvili earned her third and final WGM norm at her next tournament, the European Individual Women's Chess Championship, and was awarded the title in June at 18 years old.[17] That May, she won the Georgian under-18 girls' championship and also finished in equal first in the Georgian under-20 girls' championship, narrowly coming in second place to Miranda Mikadze on the tiebreak criteria.[26][27][28] At another tournament, she had a win against Gevorg Harutjunyan, an Armenian Grandmaster (GM) rated 2504, at a tournament in Tbilisi.[29] At the end of the year, Guramishvili was in contention to win the under-18 girls' division at the World Youth Chess Championships, but lost to the eventual winner Olga Girya in the penultimate round and ultimately finished in sixth place.[30]

2010–13: International Master title

Although Guramishvili maintained a rating in the low 2300s through the middle of 2011, she continued to progress by attaining all three of her norms for the

Zurich and had a much better result, winning the bronze medal, having finished in joint second with Ljilja Drljević and a ½ point behind the winner Batkhuyagiin Möngöntuul.[35][36] Guramishvili's best results from late 2010 through the first half of 2011 were at the 2010 Torneo Internacional Femenino Gran Hotel Bali in Spain and the 2011 Nakhchivan Open in Azerbaijan. She won the former tournament, a ten-player women's round robin, ahead of higher-rated players Alina l'Ami and her compatriot Ana Matnadze.[37][38] At the latter tournament, she earned her third and final IM norm. Although she only scored 4/9, she still had a performance rating of 2451 as she had faced opponents with a much higher average rating of 2492. During the tournament, she defeated Sergey Fedorchuk, a Ukrainian GM rated 2662.[32][39] With all three IM norms, she only needed to reach a rating of 2400 to qualify for the title.[40]

Over the next twelve months, Guramishvili gained about another 100 rating points, a stretch that began in May 2011 after the Nakhchivan Open.[4] In particular, she finished a ½ point behind the winner at the Paleochora International Chess Tournament in Greece, gaining 31 rating points.[41] She then won two tournaments, namely the qualification tournament for the Georgian Women's Chess Championship in December,[42] followed by the women's round robin event at the Reggio Emilia tournament in January.[43] The open event at the latter tournament was won by her future husband Anish Giri.[44][45] With another score of 6½/11 at the European Individual Women's Chess Championship in March, Guramishvili passed the 2400 rating threshold to earn the IM title at age 21.[4][46] She ended 2012 by winning the Torneo Internacional Femenino Gran Hotel Bali for a second time.[47][48]

Guramishvili continued to steadily increase her rating through most of 2013, reaching her career-best rating of 2441 that November.[4] She also reached a career-best women's ranking of No. 42 in the world a month earlier.[49] One of the few tournaments where she had a sub-par performance and did not gain rating points was at the Georgian Women's Chess Championship, where her score of 6½/11 only put her in joint fourth place.[50] Her better performances during the year included a career-best score of 7/11 at the European Individual Women's Chess Championship and a joint first-place finish at the Torneo Cerrado Internacional Femenino Ciudad De Linares, where she was runner-up on the tiebreak criteria.[51][52] At the end of the year, Guramishvili dropped below a rating of 2400 after a poor performance at the Chennai Open in India, where she had a negative score against opponents with a lower average rating.[53]

2014–present: World Championship competitor

Guramishvili at the 2017 Tata Steel Challengers

Since 2014, Guramishvili has largely maintained a steady rating just below 2400 while generally playing fewer tournaments.

Dronavalli Harika, a GM rated 2539. After they had drawn both classical games and both 25+10 rapid games, Dronavalli won the first of the two 10+10 rapid games to advance.[57][58][59]

In-between competing at the two Women's World Championships, Guramishvili had the two best tournaments of her career by performance rating in 2016. She was one of the participants in the Tata Steel Tienkamp, a ten-player round robin played alongside the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. Anna Rudolf, her regular broadcast partner, was one of the other participants. Guramishvili finished in joint second with 6/9, a ½ point behind the winner Vladimir Dobrov, a GM rated 2518. Her only loss in the event was to Dobrov. Overall, her opponents had an average rating of 2384, similar to her own rating of 2374, and her performance rating was 2509.[60][61] Later in the year, Guramishvili also scored 6/9 at the London Chess Classic. With her opponents having an average rating of 2348, that score corresponded to a performance rating of 2473.[62] Guramishvili had the opportunity to participate in the more prestigious Tata Steel Challengers in 2017, an event where the winner is invited to compete in the Tata Steel Masters the following year.[63] She did not have a good result, however, finishing in last place. Against opponents with an average rating of 2610, she did not win any of her games, drawing three times in thirteen rounds.[64] Guramishvili began representing the Netherlands in 2019, but has thus far not played many games since the switch.[4][65]

Playing style

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Guramishvili primarily plays 1.d4 (the

Sicilian defence (1.e4 c5), which she commonly continues with the Najdorf variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6).[66]

Personal life

Guramishvili graduated from Ilia State University in Georgia in 2013, where she studied English and Spanish.[1]

Guramishvili married fellow chess player Anish Giri in July 2015.[45] Giri is a Russian-born Dutch Grandmaster of Nepalese descent who has frequently been ranked in the top 10 in the world since 2014, peaking at No. 3.[67][68] They met at the Reggio Emilia tournament that took place around New Year's Day in 2012, where Guramishvili won the women's event and Giri won the open event.[69] They live in The Hague in the Netherlands,[70] and have two sons and a daughter who were born in October 2016, June 2021 and September 2023 respectively.[71] Guramishvili switched federations from Georgia to the Netherlands in 2019.[65]

Guramishvili has been a regular online instructor for

2014 World Chess Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand.[76]

Notes

  1. ^ A win is 1 point, a draw is a ½ point, and a loss is 0 points.[2]
  2. ^ Although the tournament is named the boys' championship, it is open to all youth players.
  3. ^ One player withdrew, leaving only 13 players.
  4. ^ FIDE regulations have allowed norms at women's continental championships to count as double norms if a minimum of nine games were played.[31]
  5. ^ 10 minutes, plus 10 additional seconds with each move

References

  1. ^ a b c "Sopiko Guramishvili". chess24. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Chess Tournament Guide for Parents". The U.S. Chess Center. Archived from the original on 28 June 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  3. ^ "2001 World Youth Chess Championships Girls U-10". World Youth Chess Festival 2001. Archived from the original on 12 December 2001. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sopiko Guramishvili Rating Progress Chart". FIDE. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. ^ "European Youth Championship Girls – U12". Chess Results. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  6. ^ "European Youth Championship Girls U-12". 2003 European Chess Championship Budva. Archived from the original on 8 October 2003. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  7. ^ "World Youth Chess Championship 2003 – Girls-12". Chess Results. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  8. ^ "World Youth Chess Championships 2004 Girls U14 under the auspices of FIDE, Greek Chess Federation and OAA Heraklio Chess Club". Chess Results. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  9. ^ "European Girls Under 14 Chess Championship". Chess Results. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  10. ^ "World Youth Chess Championship 2005 G14 Belfort, France". Chess Results. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings April 2006". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  12. ^ "GEO 63 Women Chp 1L". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  13. ^ Crowther, Mark (23 January 2006). "63rd Georgian Women Championship". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  14. ^ "World Youth Chess Championship 2006 Girls -16". Chess Results. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  15. ^ "World Youth Chess Championship 2006 Girls -16: Sopiko Guramishvili". Chess Results. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Campeonato Mundial u16 (girls)" [World Championships u16 (girls)]. Brasil Base (in Portuguese). Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d "Title Applications: 2nd quarter Presidential Board 2009, 15-18 June 2009, Krakow, POL; Woman Grandmaster (WGM): Sopiko Guramishvili". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings April 2007". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings October 2007". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  20. ^ "IX Open Internacional D'Escacs de Sants, Hostafrancs i La Bordeta Grupo A". Chess Results. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  21. ^ "World Youth Championship 2007 (16G)". Chess Results. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  22. ^ "GEO Women 65 Ch (I League)". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  23. ^ "GEO Women 65 Ch". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  24. ^ Crowther, Mark. "65th Georgian Women's Championship". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  25. ^ "GEO Women 66 Ch". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  26. ^ "GEO G-18 Ch". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  27. ^ "GEO G-20 Ch". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  28. ^ "Georgian Championship among 20- year-old girls". Poti International Chess Festival. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings September 2009". FIDE. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  30. ^ "World Youth Chess Championship 2009 (18G)". Chess Results. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Anna Rudolf WGM Title Application". FIDE. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  32. ^ a b "Title Applications: 2nd quarter Presidential Board Meeting 2011, 4-7 June, Al Ain, UAE; International Master (IM): Sopiko Guramishvili". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  33. ^ "11th European Individual Women Chess Championship". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  34. ^ Crowther, Mark (16 August 2010). "World Junior Chess Championships Chotowa 2010". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  35. ^ "World University Chess Championship 2010 – Women Zurich – Switzerland". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  36. ^ "2010 WUC Chess Update: Wang Yue and Batkhuyag Munguntuul win World University Chess Championship". International University Sports Federation. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  37. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings January 2011". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  38. ^ "I Toneo Internacional Femenino Gran Hotel Bali". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  39. ^ "Nakhchivan Open 2011, group A 22 April-01 May 2011, Nakhchivan". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  40. ^ "FIDE Title Regulations effective from 1 July 2017". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  41. ^ "4th Paleochora International Chess Tournament 2011". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  42. ^ "Georgian Women's Championship, 1st League – 2011". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  43. ^ "54 Torneo di Capodanno – Woman". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  44. ^ "54th Reggio Emilia: The stars align for Anish Giri as he takes first!". ChessBase. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  45. ^ a b Martinez, David (22 July 2015). "Anish Giri and Sopiko Guramishvili tie the knot!". chess24. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  46. ^ "2012 European Individual Women's Chess Championship". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  47. ^ "III Torneo Internacional Femenino Gran Hotel Bali". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  48. ^ Kaufmann, David (10 December 2012). "La despedida de Benidorm 2012" [Farewell to Benidorm 2012]. ChessBase (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  49. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Top Lists Records". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  50. ^ "GEO Women 70th Ch". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  51. ^ a b "14th European Individual Women's Chess Championship". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  52. ^ "Torneo Cerrado Internacional Femenino Ciudad De Linares 2013 Linares". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  53. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings December 2013". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  54. ^ "16th European Individual Women's Chess Championship". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  55. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings May 2015". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  56. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Rapid Ratings May 2015". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  57. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings April 2017". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  58. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Rapid Ratings April 2017". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  59. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Blitz Ratings April 2017". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  60. ^ Crowther, Mark (12 January 2016). "78th Tata Steel Masters 2016". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  61. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings March 2016". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  62. ^ "7th CSC London Chess Classic FIDE Open". Chess Results. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  63. ^ Doggers, Peter (11 January 2017). "2017 Tata Steel Chess Tournament: Preview". Chess.com. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  64. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili Standard Ratings February 2017". FIDE. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  65. ^ a b "Transfers in 2019". FIDE. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  66. ^ "Sopiko Guramishvili". Chess Games. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  67. ^ "Anish Giri". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  68. ^ "Anish Giri Top Lists Records". FIDE. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  69. ^ Reykjavik Open: Sopiko Guramishvili. Chess.com. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  70. ^ Vijaykumar, Govind (15 November 2015). "There's a new king in the castle". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  71. ^ Doggers, Peter (4 October 2016). "Peaceful Round In Moscow As Giri Celebrates Fatherhood". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  72. ^ McGourty, Colin (10 February 2014). "Introducing Miss Strategy and Miss Tactics". chess24. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  73. ^ "IM Sopiko Guramishvili's author profile (Sopiko)". Chessable. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  74. ^ McGourty, Colin (7 March 2018). "Jan, Peter & Sopiko commentate Candidates". chess24. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  75. ^ "Chess.com To Host Women's Speed Chess Championship". Chess.com. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  76. ^ "Commentary". The World Chess Championship Match: Sochi 2014. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sopiko Guramishvili.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sopiko_Guramishvili&oldid=1211866813"