Alexandra kosteniuk
Alexandra Kosteniuk is among the best female chess players. At the age of 20, she became the 10th woman to earn the grandmaster title, and her biggest accomplishment came four years later, when in 2008, she won the Women’s World Chess Championship. She’s also a two-time Russian Women’s Champion, a European women’s champion, a two-time Fischer Random World Champion and a nine-time gold medalist in team competitions playing for Russia.
Kosteniuk remains active in chess events across the world, and 2021 was one of the best years of her career: She won the Women's World Cup and World Rapid Championship and finished second in the Women's World Blitz Championship.
Additionally, Kosteniuk is a chess streamer, author, model, ambassador for chess education and has appeared in a film (Stanislav Govorukhin’s Bless the Woman).
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Youth and Junior Chess Career (1989 to 2004)
Kosteniuk’s father taught her how to play chess when she was five years old. It wasn’t long until she started making a name for herself on an international stage.
In 1994, Kosteniuk became the European Champion among girls under the age of 10. One month later, she finished in a tie for first place (but took home silver) at the World Youth Championships for the U-10 Girls section. She bounced back to win two more world titles in her age group. Two years later, Kosteniuk took gold in the 1996 World Youth Championships for the U-12 Girls section. Then she won the World Championships U-14 Disney Girls tournament in 1998.
-->Along the way, Kosteniuk earned several FIDE titles. She became a Woman International Master at 13 years old (1997) and a Woman Grandmaster at 14 years old (1998), two titles exclusive to women that are given roughly 200 rating points less than the corresponding open title requirements. Kosteniuk became an IM in 2000 when she was only16 years old.
The next major accomplishment for Kosteniuk took the chess world by storm. “In 2001, at the age of 17, to everybody’s surprise, I came in second at the Women’s World Championship in Moscow,” she wrote on her website. The final match went to rapid tiebreaks after it was tied two games apiece after four classical games. Yet, Zhu Chen won the title with a score of five to three games over Kosteniuk. Note that the tournament was a 64-player knockout tournament. Kosteniuk was ranked 12th and defeated three higher-ranked opponents (No. 1 Alisa Galliamova, No. 6 Almira Skripchenko and No. 8 Xu Yuhua) to get into the final match of the Women’s World Chess Championship.
The 10th Woman to Earn the GM Title (2004 to 2008)
Weeks before Kosteniuk’s 20th birthday, she won the European Women’s Chess Championship after beating Peng Zhaoqin on tiebreaks. That performance helped qualify her for the highest FIDE title of GM, and later that year, in 2004, Kosteniuk officially became one. She was the 10th woman in history to earn the GM title.
-->The following year, Kosteniuk won the Russian Women’s Championship with an undefeated score of 9/11 points, topping a field that included five other players rated 2400 and up. Another highlight during this period was her performances at Chess960 Women's Championship matches. From 2001 to 2009, Fischer Random World Championship matches took placein Mainz, Germany, and women’s matches were held in 2006 and 2008. Kosteniuk beat Elisabeth Pähtz 5.5-2.5 in 2006 and defeated Kateryna Lagno 2.5-1.5 in 2008, winning both world titles. Her second world title in the chess variant wasn’t her most notable accomplishment that year, however.
Winning the Women's World Chess Championship (2008 to 2019)
The high point of Kosteniuk’s chess career came in 2008 when she won the Women’s World Chess Championship. She was the 14th woman to earn the world championship since it was established by FIDE in 1927.
The tournament took place in Nalchik, Russian, and once again it was a 64-player knockout tournament. This time, Kosteniuk was ranked No. 9 based on rating, and she upset three higher-rated players on her way to the championship. Those included No. 8 Tatiana Kosintseva and No. 5 Pia Cramling, but her biggest test was in the finals when Kosteniuk faced No. 3 Hou Yifan. Kosteniuk won the first game with a brilliant tactical display, and the rest of their games resulted in draws, giving Kosteniuk the win with a score of 2.5-1.5. Kosteniuk didn’t have a single loss at the Women’s World Chess Championship 2008.
-->The next year, Kosteniuk followed her world title with a win at the 1st ACP Women World Rapid Cup. In a 12-player field that included three other players rated at least 2500, Kosteniuk took clear first with 10/11 points and a performance rating of 2745. Other individual accomplishments from this period include winning the Moscow Open Young WGM in 2011, becoming the first woman to win the Swiss National Championship in the men’s and women’s events, tying Kateryna Lagno for first in the Women’s World Rapid championships (Kosteniuk won silver on tiebreaks) and, in 2016, winning the Russian Women’s Championship for the second time.
A brief look at Kosteniuk’s decorated chess career wouldn’t be complete without her team performances with Russia. Five of her gold medals came from winning the Women's European Team Chess Championships in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017. She added three more gold medals at the Women’s Chess Olympiads in 2010, 2012 and 2014 (three events in a row), with eight medals at the Olympiads altogether. Kosteniuk won another gold medal at the Women's World Team Chess Championship in 2017, bringing her total gold medal count to nine across those major team competitions.
Current and Future
Kosteniuk continues to be active in chess, taking part in elite international tournaments and online-only activities like the 2019 Women’s Speed Chess Championships and her Twitch stream. As the 14th Women’s World Chess Champion, a two-time Russian Women’s Champion, a European women’s champion, a two-time Fischer Random World Champion and a nine-time gold medalist, there’s no denying the legacy that Kosteniuk has developed.
In 2021 she added to that legacy, first by winning the Women's World Cup in July, without needing a tiebreak in any of the seven rounds of mini-matches. At the 2021 World Rapid Blitz Championships, Kosteniuk won the Women's Rapid and finished second in the Women's Blitz.
Kosteniuk is poised to have a considerable impact on chess for as long as she wants, and it’s not just on the chessboard. Her chess skill is rivaled by her involvement as a streamer, author, model, ambassador for chess education and much more. Don’t overlook how Kosteniuk has altered and continues to alter the game.alexandra kosteniukKosteniuk at the Women's European Team Championship, Warsaw 2013Full nameAlexandra Konstantinovna KosteniukCountryRussia (until May 2022)
FIDE (since May 2022)[a]Born23 April 1984
Perm, Russian SFSR, Soviet UnionTitleGrandmaster (2004)Women's World Champion2008–10FIDE rating2510 (June 2022)Peak rating2561 (January 2018)
Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk (Russian: Алекса́ндра Константи́новна Костеню́к; born 23 April 1984) is a Russian chess grandmaster who is the reigning Women's World Rapid Chess Champion, and the former Women's World Chess Champion from 2008 to 2010. She was European women's champion in 2004 and a two-time Russian Women's Chess Champion (in 2005 and 2016). Kosteniuk won the team gold medal playing for Russia at the Women's Chess Olympiads of 2010, 2012 and 2014; the Women's World Team Chess Championship of 2017;[3] and the Women's European Team Chess Championships of 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017; and the Women's Chess World Cup 2021.
Chess career
Kosteniuk learned to play chess at the age of five after being taught by her father. She graduated in 2003 from the Russian State Academy of Physical Education in Moscow as a certified professional chess trainer.[4]
1994
Alexandra won the girls under 10 division of the European Youth Chess Championship.
1996
Alexandra won the girls under 12 title at both the European Youth Championships and World Youth Chess Championships. At twelve years old she also became the Russian women's champion in rapid chess.[5]
2001
Kosteniuk at the 35th Chess Olympiad, Bled 2002
In 2001, at the age of 17, she reached the final of the World Women's Chess Championship and was defeated by Zhu Chen.
2001-2004
Kosteniuk became European women's champion by winning the tournament in Dresden, Germany.[6] As she achieved this with a performance rating above 2600,[7][8] she was awarded the grandmaster title in November 2004, becoming the tenth woman to receive the highest title of the World Chess Federation (FIDE). Before that, she had also obtained the titles of Woman Grandmaster in 1998 and International Master in 2000.[9]
2005
Kosteniuk won the Russian Women's Championship.[10]
2006-2008
In August, she became the first Chess960 women's world champion after beating Germany's top female player Elisabeth Pähtz by 5½–2½. She defended that title successfully in 2008 by beating Kateryna Lahno 2½–1½.[11] However, her greatest success so far has been to win the Women's World Chess Championship 2008, beating in the final the young Chinese prodigy Hou Yifan with a score of 2½–1½.[12][13] Later in the same year, she won the women's individual blitz event of the 2008 World Mind Sports Games in Beijing.[14]
2010
In the Women's World Chess Championship 2010 she was eliminated in the third round by the eventual runner-up, Ruan Lufei, and thus lost her title.
2013
In 2013, Kosteniuk became the first woman to win the men’s Swiss Chess Championship.[15] She also won the Swiss champion title.
2014
In 2014, she tied for first place with Kateryna Lagno in the Women's World Rapid Championship, which was held in Khanty-Mansiysk, and took the silver medal on tiebreak, as Lagno won the direct encounter.[16]
2015
In 2015 Kosteniuk won the European–ACP Women's Rapid Championship in Kutaisi.[17] In July of the same year, she lost the Swiss championship playoff to Vadim Milov, and was declared women's Swiss champion.[18]
2016
Kosteniuk again won the Russian Women's Championship.[10]
2017
In 2017 she won the European ACP Women's Blitz Championship in Monte Carlo.[19]
2019
In late May, Alexandra faced Ukrainian-American International Master Anna Zatonskih in the quarterfinal match of the 2019 Women's Speed Chess Championship, an online blitz and bullet competition hosted by Chess.com.[20] Kosteniuk dominated the match and won with an overall score of 20–8.[21] In late November, Kosteniuk won the European Women's rapid and blitz championships in Monaco.[22][23] In December, she shared first place in the second leg of FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2019–20 in Monaco.[24] In December she also achieved 2nd place in the Belt and Road World Chess Woman Summit, behind Hou Yifan.[25]
2020
In August 2020, Alexandra was part of the Russian team which shared the gold medal with India in the Online Chess Olympiad.[26] She was unhappy with this result and has also tweeted regarding this issue, drawing criticism from many chess followers.[27]
2021
In July and August 2021, Kosteniuk participated in the inaugural Women's Chess World Cup, a 103-player knockout tournament in Sochi, Russia, held in parallel with the open Chess World Cup. Seeded 14th in the tournament, she won all of her classical matches without ever needing to play a tiebreak, defeating Deysi Cori, Pia Cramling, Mariya Muzychuk, Valentina Gunina and Tan Zhongyi, before winning the tournament with a 1.5 - 0.5 score against top seed Aleksandra Goryachkina in the finals. In addition to $50,000 in prize money, she also gained 43 rating points and a place in the Women's Candidates Tournament 2022.[28]
Kosteniuk ended the year by winning the women's world rapid championship in Warsaw, with an undefeated and unequalled 9.0 out of 11 score. [29] She also placed second behind IM Bibisara Assaubayeva in the blitz championship.
Other activities
Kosteniuk worked as a model and also acted in the film Bless the Woman by Stanislav Govorukhin.[6][30]
Kosteniuk is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.[31][32]
Together with 43 other Russian elite chess players, Kosteniuk signed an open letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin protesting against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. [33]
Personal life
Born in Perm, Kosteniuk moved to Moscow in 1985.[6] She has a younger sister named Oksana, who is a Woman FIDE Master-level chess player.
Kosteniuk has dual Swiss-Russian citizenship.[15] She married Swiss-born Diego Garces, who is of Colombian descent,[34] at eighteen years old. On 22 April 2007 she gave birth to a daughter, Francesca Maria. Francesca was born 2½ months premature but made a full recovery after an 8-week stay in the hospital.[35] In 2015, Kosteniuk married Russian Grandmaster Pavel Tregubov.[36]
Notable games
Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2007
- The World vs Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2004, Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation. English Attack (B90), 0–1
- Alexandra Kosteniuk vs Alexander Onischuk, Corus, Group B 2005, Spanish Game: Classical Variation (C65), 1–0
- Anna Ushenina vs Alexandra Kosteniuk, WWCh. 2008, Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical, Noa Variation (E34), 0–1
Bibliography
- .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotesmw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}Kosteniuk, Alexandra (2001). How I became a grandmaster at age 14. Moscow. ISBN 5829300435.
- Как стать гроссмейстером в 14 лет. Moscow, 2001. 202, [2] с., [16] л. ил. ISBN 5-89069-053-1.
- Как научить шахматам : дошкольный шахматный учебник / Александра Костенюк, Наталия Костенюк. Moscow : Russian Chess House, 2008. 142 с ISBN 978-5-94693-085-7.
- Kosteniuk, Alexandra (2009). Diary of a Chess Queen. Mongoose Press. ISBN 978-0-9791482-7-9.
Notes
.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman} ^ Several Russian players' officially switched federation in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1][2]References
^ Russian Grandmasters Leave Russia: 'I Have No Sympathy For This War', chess.com, 1 May 2022 ^ FIDE Condemns Military Action; Takes Measures Against Russia, Belarus, chess.com, 28 February 2022 ^ McGourty, Colin (2017-06-28). "Flawless China retain World Team Championship". chess24.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2017-09-21. ^ Golchian, Mohammad (April 9, 2015). "Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk". Chess.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020. ^ "Alexandra Kosteniuk: "The victory was so close!"". FIDE Women World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2014. FIDE. 2014-04-24. Archived from the original on 2016-02-25. Retrieved 9 January 2016. ^ a b c "The 2004 European Women's Chess Champion". ChessBase. 2004-04-04. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 18 November 2015. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20040406025416/http://www.kosteniuk.com/photosenews/gmtitle.jpg Title application ^ "FIDE Handbook 2003: International Title Regulations of FIDE" (PDF). Arbitri Lombardia Scacchi. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021. ^ Alexandra Kosteniuk rating card at FIDE ^ a b Silver, Albert (2016-11-01). "Riazantsev and Kosteniuk are 2016 Russian champions". Chess News. ChessBase. Archived from the original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2017-10-24. ^ "Mainz 2008: Kosteniuk wins Chess960, Rybka and Shredder qualify". Chess News. Aug 1, 2008. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved Oct 2, 2020. ^ Alexandra Kosteniuk is Women's World Champion Archived 2008-09-19 at the Wayback Machine ChessBase ^ The crowning of Kosteniuk as a World Champion Archived 2017-10-18 at the Wayback Machine Chessdom ^ "Kosteniuk wins WMSG blitz title" Archived 2015-01-24 at the Wayback Machine. Chessdom. ^ a b "chessqueen.com - Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog". Archived from the original on 2015-08-13. Retrieved 2014-07-31. ^ "Title: Kateryna Lagno crowned Women's World Rapid Champion". FIDE Women World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2014. FIDE. 2014-04-25. Archived from the original on 2016-02-25. Retrieved 9 January 2016. ^ "Alexandra Kosteniuk wins European-ACP Women's Rapid Championship". Chessdom. 2015-06-04. Archived from the original on 2015-12-30. Retrieved 18 November 2015. ^ "Abschluss der SEM in Leukerbad: Erster Titel für GM Vadim Milov" (in German). Swiss Chess Federation. 2015-07-17. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016. ^ "Anna Muzychuk Alexandra Kosteniuk won the European ACP Women's Rapid Blitz Chess Championship". FIDE. 2017-10-24. Archived from the original on 2017-10-25. Retrieved 2017-10-24. ^ "Nakamura Defeats So To Repeat As Speed Chess Champion". Chess.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved Oct 2, 2020. ^ Doggers, Peter (27 May 2019). "Women's Speed Chess: Kosteniuk Too Strong For Zatonskih". Chess.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019. ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - European Women Individual Blitz Chess Championship 2019". chess-results.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2020-02-20. ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - European Women Individual Rapid Chess Championship 2019". chess-results.com. Archived from the original on 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-02-20. ^ "Alexandra Kosteniuk wins the Monaco Women's Grand Prix". www.fide.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2020-02-20. ^ "The Week in Chess 1311". theweekinchess.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-07-09. ^ "India, Russia announced joint winners of Chess Olympiad after controversial finish". Aug 31, 2020. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved Oct 2, 2020. ^ Kosteniuk, Alexandra [@chessqueen] (2020-08-30). "Let's clarify one thing: India didn't win the Olympiad, but was rather named by FIDE a co-champion. imho, there is a huge difference between actually "winning" the gold or just being awarded one without winning a single game in the final #onlineolympiad" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-08-10 – via Twitter. ^ chess24.com [@chess24com] (2021-08-02). "Congratulations to Alexandra Kosteniuk (@chessqueen) on winning the 2021 Women's #FIDEWorldCup, earning $50k (40k after FIDE's cut) and picking up an amazing 43 rating points in the process! t.co/SHpthl7K4q #c24live t.co/gESpcdmJZ1" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2021-08-10 – via Twitter. ^ "Results - Women Rapid". Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28. ^ Alexandra Kosteniuk at IMDb ^ "The Chess Queen Becomes Champion for Peace". chessblog.com. 2010-03-03. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 10 October 2015. ^ Champions for peace Archived 2015-11-19 at the Wayback Machine Peace and Sport ^ 'Stop the war.' 44 Top Russian Players Publish Open Letter To Putin Archived 2022-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, March 6 2022 ^ "Various photos of Frascati". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved Oct 2, 2020. ^ "Francesca Maria Kosteniuk enters the world". ChessBase. 2007-06-21. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 10 October 2015. ^ "Alexandra Kosteniuk Marries Pavel Tregubov". chess-news.ru. 2015-08-08. Archived from the original on 2015-08-10. Retrieved 10 October 2015.External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexandra Kosteniuk.
- Official website
- Chessqueen Alexandra Kosteniuk's chess blog
- Alexandra Kosteniuk rating card at FIDE
- Alexandra Kosteniuk chess games at 365Chess.com
- Alexandra Kosteniuk player profile and games at Chessgames.com
- Alexandra Kosteniuk's chess tips – ChessKillerTips
- Interview with Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk on LatestChess site
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