World Chess hall of fame
Nana Ioseliani
Inducted 2026 1962-Present
Georgia
Biography
One of the best female players from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, Nana Ioseliani made a sensational breakthrough on the world stage at the 1979 Women’s Interzonal in Rio de Janeiro, winning with a score of 14 ½/16. She would later go on to win the 1988 Women’s Candidates tournament, losing the subsequent Women’s World Championship match against reigning titleholder Maya Chiburdanidze by the slimmest of margins—7 ½-8 ½. Ioseliani represented the Soviet Union and Georgia in eight Women’s Chess Olympiads between 1980 and 2002, winning a total of 14 team and individual medals (7 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze).
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