A mix of beautiful dreams

My life is a mix of beautiful dreams!

A few weeks ago Fred Lucas, the Dutch photographer who specialises in "available light" pictures, did a special photo session with Tea Bosboom Lanchava, who has just completed her male IM norms and will be playing for the Netherlands in the coming Olympiad in Calviá. We bring you a selection of Fred's pictures (and a link to where you can find the rest). We also asked Tea for biographical notes, which we include with the pictures.

I was born in beautiful Georgia in Kutaisi, the second largest town in Georgia. As a child I watched the chess games that were played at home. At the age of five I learned playing chess from my parents. I obviously had talent and so my parents took care that I was trained by professional chess trainers.

Later I was discovered by ex-world champion Nona Gaprindashvili, and after I became world champion in 1988, in the category girls under 14, my family could move with me to the capital city of Georgia, Tbilisi. Two years later I became world champion for the second time, with the girls under 16 years in Singapore. And a couple of times I was youth champion in Georgia and Russia, with teams as well.

Chess is almost all of what I have been doing my whole life. I love to play chess, like to be with my friends, love to be alive. I played three Olympiads and I'm looking forward to the coming 36th Olympiad at Mallorca. Since 1997 I have represented the Royal Dutch Chess Federation, and we have a nice strong team for this Olympiad!

I became a WGM in 2001. All my WGM norms were made within nine months. This year I made male IM norms in January (Corus), August (Vlissingen) and the third at the Isle of Man in September. Also within nine months. So you could say I somehow give birth to these norms!

I have no explanation why these norms succeed each other, only that I focus very intensively on chess when I'm playing a tournament. I play something like six or seven tournaments a year. Actually only during tournaments there are moments that I train and study chess. When I play a lot I train a lot. At home I hardly have any time to study chess. But I can be in the kitchen, be a mom and wife and lover, and a not a bad chess player too!

I'm officially certificated to give chess lessons and I have accompanied children during important chess events. I would like to show more of women's chess, but don't have any concreet plans for that. I would certainly like to play more against the male chess players, and priority number one is to reach the 2400, to get my IM title.

Whatever will happen in my life – chess will always be my love.