Woman Grandmaster
Which title was conferred to Nazí Paikidze in 2009?
Nazí Paikidze Nazí Paikidze , sometimes also referred to as Nazí Paikidze-Barnes ( , Nazí Ṗaiḳiʒe , ; , , born 27 October 1993 ) , is a Georgian American chess player . She holds the titles of International Master ( IM ) and Woman Grandmaster ( WGM ) , which FIDE awarded her in 2012 and 2010 respectively . Paikidze was twice world girls champion and four-time European girls champion in her age category , and is a twice U.S . womens champion . Early life . Paikidze was born in Irkutsk , Russia . Her father was a mechanical engineer , and her mother a biochemist . Her father taught her to play chess when she was four years old . That same year , her parents moved to Tbilisi , Georgia , where she grew up with dual citizenship Georgian and Russian . In Tbilisi , Paikidze attended elementary school , where chess was part of the curriculum , and she relates that chess became her favorite class . Her chess teacher recognized her talent and suggested to her parents that they might consider chess as a profession for their daughter . Paikidze has said : Every family in Georgia owns a chess set and knows how to play . Everyone in the country knows the names and faces of the top Georgian chess players . In 1999 , at the age of 6 , Paikidze began working with her first professional chess coach and improved quickly . Just over three years later , in 2003 , at the age of 9 , Paikidze won her first international tournament : the European Youth Chess Championship , in a category for girls under ten years old . After that tournament she earned the title of FIDE Master . Her family then moved to Moscow in 2006 . Paikidzes brother was a football player . In 2008 , at the age of 14 , Paikidze began being coached by Russian grandmaster Vladimir Belov and others . She became a Woman Grandmaster in 2010 , then an International Master . Chess career . Paikidze won twelve medals at European Youth Chess Championship , World Youth Chess Championship , and World Junior Chess Championship , including six gold medals , in various age categories . She won the European Youth Chess Championship four times : in Budva 2003 ( Under-10 girls category ) , Herceg Novi 2005 ( U-12 girls ) , Šibenik 2007 ( U-14 girls ) , and Herceg Novi 2008 ( U-16 girls ) . She won medals in the World Youth Chess Championship in Kallithea 2003 ( bronze U-10 girls ) , Belfort 2005 ( silver U-12 girls ) , Batumi 2006 ( bronze U-14 girls ) , Kemer 2007 ( gold U-14 girls ) , Vũng Tàu 2008 ( gold U-16 girls ) , and Antalya 2009 ( bronze U-16 girls ) . She also won two bronze medals at the U-20 World Junior Girls Chess Championship , in Gaziantep 2008 and Madras 2011 . 2009 . At the age of 16 , Paikidze attained a peak rating of 2455 and was rated 35th in world of the top FIDE-rated women . 2010 . Paikidze jointly won the womens open event of the Moscow Open , won the Moscow Womens Championship and the Russian Womens Championship qualifier ( Higher League ) , and finished fourth in the Russian Womens Championship Superfinal . In the same year , she was awarded the title of Woman Grandmaster ( WGM ) , for her results in the 2008 Aeroflot Open , 2009 Georgian Womens Championship , where she came equal second , and the 2010 Moscow Open . 2011 . Paikidze represented Georgia in the 9th European Womens Team Chess Championship in Porto Carras 2011 , winning the team bronze medal . In 2012 , Paikidze was awarded the title of International Master ( IM ) . 2013 . Paikidze competed in a small number of international chess events in the United States after moving to Baltimore , Maryland . She then changed her FIDE federation to that of the U.S . 2015 . Paikidze made her debut in the U.S . Womens Chess Championship , finishing second with a score of 7½/11 points . Later that year , she won the Boardwalk Open in Galloway , New Jersey , edging out on tiebreak Sergey Kudrin and Igor Sorkin , after all finished on 4/5 . 2016 . On April 25 , Paikidze won the U.S . Womens Championship in her second appearance with 8½ points in 11 games . Paikidze boycotted the Womens World Chess Championship 2017 in Tehran , Iran due to its hijab dress code : I will not wear a hijab and support womens oppression . Even if it means missing one of the most important competitions of my career . She received support for her stance from the U.S . Chess Federation , as well as prominent players Nigel Short and Garry Kasparov . Her online petition asking for the championship to be moved or the hijab laws to be relaxed has received over 15,000 signatures . It has been pointed out in this context that the U.S . Department of State has issued a warning that there is a risk of arrest and detention of U.S . citizens , and also states that travelers should very carefully weigh the risks of travel and consider postponing their travel . 2018 . In April , Paikidze won the 2018 U.S . Womens Championship for the second time , after defeating WIM Annie Wang in the playoff match , which started with 1-1 in the rapid , and finished with Paikidze winning as white in the Armageddon . Personal life . Paikidze currently is a full-time chess professional . She married American engineer Greg Barnes and resides in the area of Las Vegas , Nevada , U.S . Paikidze studied at the University of Maryland , Baltimore County ( UMBC ) , which has a chess program that has won a record number of times both the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship and the Presidents Cup . She joined the UMBC team in the fall of 2012 . Meanings of names . - Her Georgian first name , Nazí ( ნაზი ) translates as gentle . She has explained that the correct pronunciation is nah-ZEE ( ) . She was named after her grandmother . - Her Russian patronym Nodarovna ( Нодаровна ) translates as daughter of Nodar , with Nodar ( Нодар ) being her fathers name and -ovna ( -овна ) translating to daughter of . - Her Georgian family name translates as Pawns son or son of a pawn , with paiki ( პაიკი ) translating as pawn , dze ( ძე ) translating as son . External links . - Nazi Paikidze chess games at 365Chess.com