In 1990, Rusudan Goletiani was the Soviet Representative in the World Youth Chess tournament for Peace in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. However, her rating chart shows that she had not played a rated game in the last six months. Georgia has been beset by civil war since 1992 and the war is primarily centered in her home region of Abkhazia. Travel in the separatist-controlled Abkhazia remains dangerous and Americans are urged to avoid travel to the region. There has been an increase in terrorist activity in Abkhazia with recent outbreaks of fighting, including attacks on international observers.
Land mines pose a threat to all travelers in Abkhazia.
This situation has made it difficult for Rusudan Goletiani to compete in chess tournaments either internationally or in her own country, especially since she is from the very place in Georgia where the civil war is centered. Rusudan Goletiani has never had a chess trainer or coach, in contrast to many other top rated young chess players who seem to be surrounded by a plethora of coaches and trainers. In spite of these disadvantages, her results have been impressive. In addition to winning three world championships, she reached a FIDE rating of 2386 on the January 1999 list and was ranked number 42 in the world . She was awarded the title of International Woman's Grandmaster when she was only 17 years old.