Nazi Paikidze

Paikidze, whose first name is pronounced (nah-ZEE), is a Russian-born Georgian-American who has represented the United States since 2013. A two-time U.S. Women’s Champion (2016 and 2018) who finished second in 2015 and 2017, Paikidze was a member of the 2016 and 2021 U.S. Olympiad teams, winning a silver medal in the latter.

A prodigy in her youth, Paikidze won twelve medals at the European Youth Chess Championships, the World Youth Championships and the World Junior Championships. This included winning gold medals in the Under 14 and 16 age groups in the World Youth Championships. She attained her peak rating of 2455 at the age of 16 which placed her 35th in the world at the time.

Paikidze, who attended the University of Maryland at Baltimore County on a chess scholarship and graduated with a degree in information systems, is a full-time chess professional these days, but focusing primarily on commentary rather than playing.