Maia Chiburdanidze

Maia Chiburdanidze, born January 17, 1961, is a Georgian chess grandmaster who became the sixth Women's World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1978 to 1991, the third-longest reign in the championship's history. She earned the Woman Grandmaster title in 1977 and the full (open) Grandmaster title in 1984, becoming only the second woman ever awarded it. She competed extensively in elite international tournaments beyond the women's circuit and won nine gold medals with the Soviet and later Georgian teams at Women's Chess Olympiads, helping Georgia to Olympiad success following its independence from the Soviet Union. Her championship record stood as the youngest ever until Hou Yifan broke it in 2010.