Game Changer:
I was born on October 27th, 1993 in Irkutsk, Russia.
Shortly after, my family moved to Tbilisi, Georgia,
where I attended the 1st grade of elementary school. Lucky for me, chess was a part of the curriculum.
My teacher saw talent in me and suggested to my parents that they should find a professional chess coach and help me begin to compete on a national level. We took this advice and 6 months later I started winning national tournaments.
At the age of 8, I came 2nd at the Georgian championship U10 and qualified for the European Youth Championship. That's when my journey started...
To my surprise, I won the championship U10 with 7/7 points, 2 rounds before the end of the tournament!
That's when I fell in love with chess and decided to make it my career. Shortly after, I was training with the nation's best coaches and traveling around the world competing in tournaments.
In 2006, my family moved to Moscow, Russia, where I continued as a chess professional. With the help of the Russian chess school I achieved my peak FIDE rating 2455 by age 16 and was in the top 40 women in the world.
Moving to USA
I was lucky enough to be given several incredible scholarship offers from US Universities with chess teams.
When I turned 18 I chose to join one of the nation's best collegiate chess teams at UMBC.
In 2012, I moved to Baltimore, took a break from playing professionally to focus on my studies.
My first name, Nazí (ნაზი) translates as "gentle". The correct pronunciation is "nah-ZEE". I was named after my grandmother. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Chess Program has won a record number of times both the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship and the President’s Cup. I joined the UMBC team in the fall of 2012.
By the end of 2014, I decided to officially switch my chess federation and started to play for the USA.
Afterward, I was invited to play the 2015 US Women's Championship and finished tied for 2nd place. The tournament reminded me how much I had missed the world of chess - I decided to once again play professionally.
My Cat
This is My Cat:
From Marie Claire magazine, February 2017 By Asra Q. Nomani
Game Changer: This chess queen refused to be used as a pawn
As the reigning 2016 U.S. women’s chess champion, Nazi Paikidze should be looking forward to competing at the world championships this month. But when the international chess federation, FIDE, announced that the event would take place in Iran, where “morality laws” stipulate women – even foreign chess competitions – must wear hijabs and restrict contact with men, she decided to boycott.
“By participating, I would be forced to submit to forms of oppression designed specifically for women.” says the Las Vegas-based Paikidze, 23. “It sets the wrong example, particularly for young girls interested in chess.”
After announcing the protest on social media last fall, she launched a Change.org petition, which has been signed by more than 16,800 people, asking FIDE to relocate the competition or, at minimum, make wearing a headscarf optional and guarantee female players wouldn’t face discrimination. At press time, FIDE had yet to issue a decision, but spokeswoman Anastasiya Karlovich told MC the federation is “reviewing all possible solutions for the players’ comfort.”
For now, the two sides remain in a stalemate, but Paikidze has promised not to give in, even if it means sacrificing her dreams. “I would rather not be a world champion,” she says. “Human rights stand above chess and everything else.” Your move, FIDE.
In the same week as Sweden’s self-declared “first feminist government in the world” sold out Iranian women’s rights by having its senior female ministers publicly comply with the forced Hijab,
there were a number of female chess players who refused to submit to Iran’s discrimination, includingNazi Paikidze-Barnes, Carolina Lujan, Irina Kursh and Maria Muzychuk.
Ukrainian chess player, former world champion Maria Muzychuk refused to participate in the Women’s World Chess Championship, held in Tehran this week, because of the requirement to wear the Hijab.
“The next tournament is the Gibraltar Open. As for the 2017 Women’s World Chess Championship in Iran, I decided not to take part in it, since Iran is obviously not a suitable country for such a prestigious competition. It is so wrong that those chess players, who refuse to go to Iran and to wear the hijab, simply lose the right to participate in the Championship for no reason,” she said in an interview with censor.net.ua Ukrainian news portal.
hno:
well my only way to make up for this is a parlay at 5D college hockey
that would be like paying $0.56 a day to get out of ban
hope this hits
5/34
Cornell 3-3
St Lawrence 1-1
Union 4-2
Boston U 8-4
Air Force 3-2
Notre Dame 3-3
3-0-3 +7.43 guess $0.12 a day gets my posting rights back :think2:
You managed to get 3 Pushes?
Out of a 6 Team Card?!?!
Good Lord.
Thinking Upon the possibility that you watched them games, them pushes and the massive aggravation/stress involved in that FRUSTRATION
plus the sheer courage to even try this, 6 Teamer
Heck with any Ban Talk in fact you've gained CREDIT of 60 Days, Complete Flip-Up
Act a Fool Up in Here at your Leisure, you're Covered, My Man :toast: You Gots Credit.
Pro Tip:
I can't imagine anything that would get you Banned at this point. You Got Balls of Steel you one Bad Hombre :toast: 3 fuggin Pushes SMDH
