From Trailblazers To Candidates: 10 Brilliancies Played By Women
As eight of the strongest women in the world gear up for the Women’s Candidates Tournament in April, let’s celebrate brilliant games played by female players throughout time.
What is a brilliancy? Is it the most visually aesthetic move? The most creative? The most inspiring? Does brilliance occur when a player reaches beyond themselves to a newfound understanding?
Photo: Gerhard Hund/Wikimedia, CC.
In "What Is the Greatest Brilliancy Ever?," IM Jeremy Silman shared his perspective: "A great combination is usually judged by the feeling it gives you. To me, a great combination is a work of art, and as we all know, art, beauty, and music are subjective."
Do brilliancies always have to be combinations with flashy sacrifices? What about positional masterpieces and virtuoso displays of endgame understanding?
Here are an array of brilliancies by top women of the past and present. Enjoy this curated collection of blazing tactics, inspired attacks, and profound maneuvers.
Trailblazers
- Nona Gaprindashvili Inspires Mikhail Tal
- Maia Chiburdanidze Reawakens Geller's Novelty
- Xie Jun's Maneuvering Masterpiece
- Judit Polgar Fuses Strategy & Attack vs. Anand
Modern Grandmasters
- Hou Yifan's Eye-Catching Combination
- Alexandra Kosteniuk's Daring in the Endgame
- Elisabeth Paehtz's Tactical Strike
2024 Candidates
- Humpy Koneru Invigorates Her Comeback
- Vaishali Rameshbabu Sacrifices All of Her Heavy Pieces
- Tan Zhongyi Finds Clarity in the Midst of Chaos
Trailerblazers
Nona Gaprindashvili Inspires Mikhail Tal
At Dortmund 1974, GM Nona Gaprindashvili discovered a tactical idea that would echo through history for decades to come.
In fact, her sacrifice even inspired the Magician from Riga. Not long after Gaprindashvili's game, GM Mikhail Tal found himself in the same position in a tournament, and he utilized her idea to gain a winning position. In Tal’s Winning Chess Combinations, Victor Khenikin shares the eighth world champion's reflection:
"I owe a sincere debt of gratitude to the Women’s World Champion,” jokingly wrote Tal in the Latvian magazine Chess, “for her active participation in my appearance at Les Halles."
Tal's version of the game leads to a quick victory as well.
Maia Chiburdanidze Reawakens Geller's Novelty
GM Maia Chiburdanidze reset the record for the youngest to women's world champion (at age 17) and was the first woman to break into the world top 50. In 1980, she played one of her most memorable games vs. GM Semen Dvoirys.
With a novelty in the Sicilian, Chiburdanidze played a picturesque knight sacrifice and followed it up with imaginative and relentless attacking play. Behind the scenes, the game has a unique backstory. Her coach, GM Eduard Gufeld, shared in his autobiography, Chess: The Search for Mona Lisa:
The prelude to this game is curious. At Portoroz in 1973, GMs Lajos Portisch, Lev Polugaevsky, and Efim Geller were playing off for the two remaining places in the Candidates Tournament. In the first game, Polugaevsky used an interesting novelty against Geller and won. Geller and I spent half a night analysing the game and found an excellent refutation. But we were not able to use it, and for many years chessplayers were repeating Polugaevsky's idea. Nobody saw the effective refutation found by us.
I have no secrets from Maya, but when we touched on this variation in our opening studies, I was in a dilemma. Was it ethical to reveal the variation which I hadn't discovered alone? However, taking into consideration that 50% of the "shares" were mine, I found a solution and said, "Maya, in this position White gets the advantage by force. I can't tell you how―find it for yourself." The next day Maya discovered this idea. Afterwards she used it against Dvoiris and won.
Maya, in this position White gets the advantage by force. I can't tell you how―find it for yourself.
―Eduard Gufeld
Xie Jun's Maneuvering Masterpiece
GM Xie Jun was the first women's world champion from Asia. Her victory helped popularize chess in China and throughout Asia, opening the door for a surge of strong Chinese women players to reach the top of the international arena up to today.
In her positional masterpiece vs. GM Bent Larsen, her insightful maneuvers on the queenside soon become a mating net woven around her opponent's king.
Judit Polgar Fuses Strategy & Attack vs. Anand
GM Judit Polgar has broken countless records both for women and universally. She reset the record for the youngest grandmaster, previously held by GM Bobby Fischer. She is also the first and only woman so far to break into the world top 10, ranking at world number eight in July 2004.
Polgar's masterpiece vs. GM Viswanathan Anand in Dos Hermanas 1999 is one of her personal favorites and widely regarded as one of her best of all time. Fascinatingly, Polgar followed in the footsteps of Chiburdanidze from a game in 1983 until Anand chooses a different 14th move.
With a combination of positional insights and tactical punches, Polgar breaks down the defenses of the future 15th world champion.
In an interview with Chess.com, Polgar shared a meaningful memory of Anand:
Of course there were many times when I wished they would just be talking about me as a player. Even when I was 25, 26 and I’d been at the top for over 10 years, interviewers were still asking my biggest rivals what they thought of competing against a woman. And I always remember Vishy Anand replying one time, 'She’s a great player. She’s one of us,' which was very special to my ear.
I think it was irritating for Vishy and the others to keep facing these questions, because we’d already played so many times, and I’d beaten most of the top players at least once. But Vishy saying that showed me that I was really respected within the chess world, and accepted as a colleague.
She’s a great player. She’s one of us.
― Viswanathan Anand
Modern Grandmasters
Hou Yifan's Eye-Catching Combination
GM Hou Yifan has been the highest-rated woman in the world for almost a decade. In 2017, she won the Biel Chess Festival with a 2810 performance rating.
In her game below vs. GM Marie Sebag, Hou discovers a particularly delightful finish. Can you find it?
For a strategic brilliancy by Hou, check out her positional queen sacrifice vs. GM Borya Ider.
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Daring in the Endgame
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk is the 12th women's world champion and the first woman to win the Swiss Championship. In her game vs. GM Harika Dronavalli at the 2023 Cairns Cup, Kosteniuk shows the value of the initative in the endgame.
Afterwards, Kosteniuk shared her mindset that led to victory: "Probably she wanted to just repeat the position, but I dared to play on."
I dared to play on.
―Alexandra Kosteniuk
Elisabeth Paehtz's Tactical Strike
GM Elisabeth Paehtz is the first German woman to earn the grandmaster title. In the 2023 FIDE Women's Grand Prix cycle, she discovered one of the most striking tactics of the year vs. WGM Dinara Wagner.
In an interview with WGM Dina Belenkaya in 2023, Paehtz shared her goal in chess: “To qualify for the Candidates once in my life. I was very close in the Grand Swiss Chess [in 2021]."
2024 Candidates
Koneru Humpy Invigorates Her Comeback
GM Humpy Koneru is third highest-rated woman ever (after Polgar and Hou). In 2016, she took a two year hiatus to focus on motherhood. When she returned to chess, it took some time and disappointing performances to re-adapt to the challenges of competition. Humpy shared the doubts she faced with Hindustan Times:
For sure many thought I will not get back to chess because I took such a long break. I haven’t played even online tournaments, and I was not in the chess circuit. Even when I came back, they had doubts about how much I will do. Some of them said to me, ‘now that you have a kid, it will be difficult to concentrate on the game. It’s better to enjoy your life.' Everyone has their opinion but at the end of the day the passion and the ambitions you have will help you to rise.
Humpy's brilliant miniature vs. IM Alina Kashlinskaya marked the beginning of a slew of high-level performances. In a seemingly calm opening position, Humpy discovers a way to break into her opponent’s kingside with an unstoppable attack. Do you see how?
White to move.
Humpy went on to win the 2019 Skolokovo Women's Grand Prix. She won the women’s world rapid championship later that year and the Cairns Cup the next. The upcoming Candidates Tournament is a step to one of her most significant goals. When asked if she had unfinished business in regards to the Women’s World Championship by Hindustan Times, Humpy shared:
Yeah true, that’s haunting me. But I don’t want to think about it too much. Just want to concentrate on improving my game, and I really don’t know whether I will end up winning the world title or not, but I will keep on trying.
Vaishali Rameshbabu Sacrifices All of Her Heavy Pieces
In 2023, GM-elect Vaishali Rameshbabu gained 75 FIDE rating points to earn her grandmaster title and break into the top 15 women in the world. She earned her spot in the candidates by winning the 2023 FIDE Women's Grand Swiss with an undefeated 2658 performance.
In her game vs. Jelinek Michal in 2016, Vaishali sacrifices one piece after another to create a rare combination.
When asked who she believes is the most creative player in the upcoming Women's Candidates, Ju named Vaishali.
Tan Zhongyi Finds Clarity in the Midst of Chaos
GM Tan Zhongyi is the 16th women's world champion, holding the title from 2017-2018. In her 2011 encounter vs. WGM Zhang Xiaowen, Tan conducts an extraordinary king hunt. Within the fury of dynamic play, she finds one precise calm move that boosts her ferocity of her attack. As Tal once reflected: “Quiet moves often make a stronger impression than a wild combination with heavy sacrifices.”
Brilliancies remind us that chess is about much more than just who wins or loses. This captivating game can also be an open canvas for the creativity and the depth of understanding that the human mind is capable of.
What makes a game brilliant to you? Do you have a favorite brilliancy played by a female player? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
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Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.
You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West
