Historically observed, chess is a very popular and extremely significant sport in Georgia. Therefore, every year there is more tournaments and championships available to incredible Georgian players who show strong emotions and passion towards this type of game. Because of this, Georgia has a large number of Grandmasters (GM), International Masters (IM), Candidate Masters (CM), as well as FIDE Masters (FM). Georgia also has a significant number of Women Grandmasters (WGM) Women International Masters (WIM), Women Candidate Masters (WCM) and also Women FIDE Masters (WFM).
Georgian Cup Rapid
First Georgian Cup Rapid was held in October 2012 with 70 participants from Georgia and one from Russia. This competition is one of the best chess tournaments in Georgia, and it accepts both men and women. Players in rapid chess type usually have around 15 minutes each with 10 seconds rise per move. Among these 70 participants, there were 7 Grandmasters, 9 International Masters as well as 2 Women Grandmasters - Miranda Mikadze and Tamar Khmiadashvili. There were also 3 Women International Masters, 2 FIDE Masters, 4 Women FIDE Masters and WCM Lali Bibilashvili.
5th Georgian Championship I League
This tournament was held in November 2015 in Tbilisi. This tournament offered a chance for competition to 43 male and female chess players. It was a very successful tournament with some of the greatest Georgian chess players of the time. The main star of the tournament was a Grandmaster, Tornike Sanikidze, as well as International Masters such as Giga Quparadze, Bachana Morchiashvili, Nino Khurtsidze, and Giorgi Sibashvili.
3rd Georgian Women Championship I League
This tournament was also held in November 2015. 3rd Georgian Women Championship included 29 female chess players from Georgia, who are eager to follow the steps of their famous predecessors and chess idols. Among them, there were two International Masters Sofio Gvetadze and Sopiko Khukhashvili, as well as two Women International Masters Ana Gavasheli and Aleksandra Vakhania.
5th Georgian Championship Qualification
However it is also important to mention the qualifications for 5th Georgian Championship, with 48 best Georgian male and female chess players. Among them was the Woman Candidate Master, Lali Bibilashvili. The qualification competition was held in October 2015.
Georgian Grand Prix Blitz-4
The tournament took place in September 2015 which was played by 50 participants from Georgia, and one from Brazil. Blitz chess is the type of chess where each player has 5 minutes or less to complete the game. This tournament is especially specific because four Grandmasters participated in the Grand Prix tournament. Those were famous chess players Levan Pantsulaia, Alexandr Fier, Davit Maghalashvili and Davit Lomsadze.
Georgian Grand Prix Rapid-4
This competition in the organization of the Georgian Chess Federation offered a chance to 50 male and female players from Georgia to present their skills and abilities in Rapid chess type. The first Grand Prix out of four was held in April 2013, while the fourth event took place in November 2015. This is 9-round Swiss event with the time control 15+10. Five Grandmasters appeared in the tournament, as well as five International Masters, along with many Women International Masters and Women FIDE Masters.
Georgian Women Grand Prix Blitz-4
Even though women can compete in men´s section, men cannot participate in women´s championships and tournaments. This is the event held in Tbilisi in September 2015, where 19 participants played blitz type chess with 3 minutes for the game with two additional seconds from the first move. This tournament featured five International Masters such as Lela Javakhishvili, Nino Khurtsidze, Meri Arabidze, Sopiko Khukhashvili and Sofio Gvetadze.
Georgian Women Grand Prix Rapid-4
This tournament was held in September 2015 with 12 chess players from Georgia. Four Women Grandmasters appeared in the tournament, such as Inga Charkhalashvili, Inga Khurtsilava, Nino Maisuradze and Tamar Khmiadashvili. There were also four International Masters, two Women International Masters, two Women FIDE Masters, and one Woman Candidate Master.
Nona Gaprindashvili Cup Open-A
This is a competition held in honor of the Georgian best female chess player and first female Grandmaster Nona Gaprindashvili. It was held in September 2015 with 60 participants from the countries of the ex-Soviet Union. Among them 6 Grandmasters such as Levan Pantsulaia, Luka Paichadze, Tornike Sanikidze, Davit Maghalashvili and Davit Lomsadze from Georgia, and Hovik Hayrapetyan from Armenia. There were also 14 International Masters, four Women Grandmasters, 5 Women International Masters, 8 FIDE Masters, and 6 Women FIDE Masters.
Nona Gaprindashvili Cup Open-B
It was also held in September 2015, with 109 participants from Georgia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, and Iran. Unlike Nona Gaprindashvili Cup Open-A, this tournament only featured only three Women FIDE Masters - Jemal Ovezdurdiyeva, Ogulgerek Atabayeva from Turkmenistan and Nino Jalaghonia from Georgia. There was also one Woman Candidate Master - Lali Bibilashvili.