Georgia wins the FIDE World Women’s Team Championship 2023

It’s not the first time that Georgia wins this championship: in 2015, under a different format but with an identical lineup, Bella Khotenashvili, Meri Arabidze, Nino Batsiashvili, Lela Javakhishvili, and Salome Melia secured the trophy for their country in Sochi, 2015.

In the Small Final, the clash between France and the USA was a very close affair, but in the end, it was “les Bleues” who got the Bronze medal, after a draw in the first match and a 3-1 victory in the second match.

Georgia – Kazakhstan (2½-1½) (3½-½)

The first match between Georgia and Kazakhstan set the tone for the Final, with Lela Javakhishvili turning into the hero of the day, as she won both games in great fashion. Playing on the White side of a King’s Indian against Amina Kairbekova, she got an advantage right out of the opening that she soon converted into an extra pawn. At some point, her rival managed to equalise, but shortly after she made a mistake that allowed Lela to be in command again.

With things looking so good on the fourth board from so early, all the Georgians played free of pressure. Nurmanova tried a new move in the Ruy Lopez, 11.Nxe5, against Batsiashvili, but the resulting position was completely equal and ended in a draw. The same result was reached in the second board, Arabidze-Kamalidenova, where the young Kazakhstani took risks from the opening, sacrificing a pawn for activity. Even though she got enough compensation, she never achieved an advantage.

The game between Assaubayeva (with White) and Khotenashvili was a Queen’s Gambit Declined (Exchange variation), where as early as move nine we had a completely new position on the board. With no real chances to win the game, Bibisara settled for a draw with a perpetual check. When Javakhishvili finally converted her advantage, the match was over: 2½-1½.

The second match was not meant to change the fate of the final, and Georgia won again, even by a higher score. On the third board, Nino Batsiashvili and Alua Nurmanova saw an early queen exchange, which soon led to a draw increasing the pressure on the Kazakhstani players.

The key was was the one on the first board between Bella Khotenashvili and Bibisara Assaubayeva. Both players followed an unorthodox plan in the King’s Indian, and White had a small edge out of the opening. Under pressure, Bibisara blundered a piece when her position was already hopeless.

Lela Javakhishvili was better with Black, after her opponent played the opening carelessly, but after checking the match situation after 90 minutes of play, she decided to go for a line that would guarantee her a draw. Perfectly aware that this result was not enough, her opponent tried to force matters and keep the game going, only to lose.

The second-board clash between Kamalidenova and Arabidze was very balanced, but towards the end, Meruert lost the thread of the game and her position collapsed, leaving the final score in a double victory for the Georgians, by 2½-1½ and 3½-½.

France – USA (2-2) (3-1)

The first match for the Bronze was quite a slaughter fest, with 6 out of the 8 games reaching a decisive result, many of them after several unexpected turns.

On the fourth board, two former teammates found themselves facing each other representing their countries of adoption. Mitra Hejazipour, with White, and playing now for France, chose the wrong plan with 23.f4 and 24.Rf3, giving up a pawn for the attack. Pourkashiyan, playing for the USA, demonstrated that Black had nothing to fear, and grabbed the full point.

Anastasia Savina had an inferior position with White, but Tatev went wrong, allowing the White Queen to penetrate the Black King’s position, and resigning shortly after.

Alice Lee went wrong with 19.Qa5 and allowed Deimante to grasp the initiative, and to make things worse, she then blundered a pawn with 22.Rc3, missing a simple tactic. However, things went horribly wrong for Deimante from then on. She gave up an exchange, unnecessarily, to capture one of White’s pawns, and then she got her pieces entangled in the first rank, losing material, and the game.

Meantime, Sophie Milliet played a brilliant attacking game, with Black, with an exchange sacrifice included. With her victory, the first match ended in a 2-2.

For the second match, the Americans replaced Tatev with Zatonskih, while Hejazipour gave her place to Natacha Benmesbah.

France’s second board, Anastasia Savina, got out of the opening with a better position against Zatonskih, but the game ended in a draw. Atousa Pourkashiyan went for a false combination, probably missing something important in her calculation. She lost almost on the spot, giving the full point to Natasha.

Sophie Milliet, on the White side of a Richter-Rauzer Sicilian, saw her attack progressing much faster than her opponent’s, and scored another brilliant victory, the second of the day for her, becoming the star of the French team.

On the first board, the clash between Daulyte-Cornette and Lee was “unbalanced but roughly equal”, and ended in a draw after 60 moves, when the match had already been decided on the two lower boards. A fantastic performance by the French team, which brought them a historical and well-deserved Bronze medal.