Glory to the Queen

Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze, Nana Alexandria and Nana Iosseliani: four names that light up the eyes of almost all chess players. As top players, they dominated the chess scene from the early 1960s until the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, bringing the world title to Georgia ten times in a row. Nona Gaprindashvili achieved what no woman before her had ever done: she was the first woman ever to win the prestigious title of Grandmaster. To this day, there is no female form of this title. She remained world champion for 15 years, then the unexpected happened: the only 17-year-old Maia Chiburdanidze overthrew her. Nana Alexandria and Nana Iosseliani were always on their heels, and as a foursome they were practically unbeatable. Their immense successes in the previously male-dominated chess world, led to countless girls being named after them. The memory of their achievements thus lives on in the women who bear their names. Glory to the Queen, a film about victory and defeat on the chessboard and in life, is a well-deserved memorial to them.