Alexandra Kosteniuk!
by
John Bain
Alexandra is scheduled to play in the 2022 Women’s World Chess Candidates Tournament later in 2022.
At 37 years old, Alexandra wins the 2021 FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup!
Alexandra, aka “Chess Queen” on social media, was born April 23, 1984 in Perm, Russia.
The one time 2008-2010 Women’s World Chess Champion now rises to the top again in 2021!
Alexandra with 2021 Women’s Chess World Cup Trophy
Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated the reigning Women’s World Chess Champion challenger, Aleksandra Goryachkina, in the final match to win the inaugural 2021 Women’s Chess World Cup.
Alexandra at the board behind the black pieces
The 2021 Women’s Chess World Cup, a 103-player knockout tournament in Sochi, Russia, concluded in August 2021.
Seeded 14th in the tournament, Alexandra Kosteniuk won all of her classical matches without needing to play a single 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-seeded Aleksandra Goryachkina in the finals.
In addition to $50,000 in prize money, Alexandra Kosteniuk also gained 43 rating points and a place in the Women’s Candidates Tournament in 2022.
2008-2010 Women’s World Chess Champion
Alexandra Kosteniuk circa 2008
In 2008, Alexandra won the Women’s World Chess Championship–her greatest success so far–beating the young Chinese prodigy Hou Yifan who is now the world’s #1 rated female chess player at 2658.
Taught by her father, Kosteniuk learned to play chess at the age of five. She graduated in 2003 from the Russian State Academy of Physical Education in Moscow as a certified professional chess trainer.
At the 2010 Women’s World Chess Championship, she was eliminated in the third round and thus lost her title.
Married
Alexandra Kosteniuk and husband Pavel Tregubov
In 2015, Kosteniuk married Russian Grandmaster Pavel Tregubov. Pavel Tregubov is a Russian GM, who has lived for many years in France. He is also older than Kosteniuk, although this time the age difference is not as great as between Alexandra and her first husband–Tregubov is just over 12 years older than Alexandra.
Her First Marriage
Alexandra and her first husband Diego Garces
Alexandra met her first husband when she was 16 years old. In 2006 when she was only 18 years old, Alexandra married Swissborn Diego Garces, who was of Colombian descent and 25 years her elder.
On April 22, 2007, she gave birth to a daughter, Francesca Maria. Francesca was born 2½ months premature, but after an 8-week stay in the hospital made a full recovery.
Only 18 months after Francesca’s birth, Alexandra Kosteniuk became the Women’s World Chess Champion!
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