GMBaadur Jobava

Baadur Jobava was born in Gali in 1983; his younger brother Beglar also became an international master. Baadur received the grandmaster title in 2001. He won the Georgian championship in 2003, 2007 and 2012, returning to win it in 2024 and 2026. His international victories include the 2003 Dubai Open, 2005 Samba Cup and 2006 Aeroflot Open. He won European Individual silver in 2010 and again in 2017. He became European rapid champion in 2011. At the 2017 World Cup he defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi on his way to the last sixteen. He won individual Olympiad gold in 2004 and, on first board, in 2016. His 2016 performance included victories over former world champions Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov. In 2019 he won the Abu Dhabi Masters with eight points from nine games. He also popularized the Jobava London System, developing the queen's knight to c3 and dark-squared bishop to f4 after opening with d4.