Rusudan Goletiani

Rusudan Goletiani was born in Georgia in 1980 and came to the United States in 2000. Rusa won the Soviet Junior Chess Championship for Girls Under 12 in 1990 at the age of nine. She then went on to win the World Chess Championship for Girls three times. In 1994, she won the Under 14; in 1995, the Under 16; and in 1996, the Under 18. In 2004, Rusa won the US Woman's Chess Championship. I met her in 2001, when we were working as chess instructors with the National Scholastic Chess Foundation. She continued working with the NSCF until she began training to play in the Chess Olympiad for the US. In my chess classes I often base lessons on short games such as the following win by Rusa in the Under 14 event. A lesson should provide themes for students. In this game the main ideas concern development and the center.