Alexandra Kosteniuk's CHESSQUEEN.COM

Chess Queen® & 12th Women's World Chess Champion Grandmaster Mega-Site & Chess Blog


Archive for the ‘Chess’ Category

May 11th, 2016

Kosteniuk helps Moscow Chess Team to win the Russian team championship-2016

On May 10, 2016 the Russian Team Championship ended in Sochi, Russia. My team from Moscow won the event second year in a row. I flew to Sochi straight after the Grand-Prix to Batumi and was able to support my team by playing 5 important rounds and scoring 4 out of 5. Read more…

May 2nd, 2016

Kosteniuk takes silver in the FIDE Grand-Prix in Batumi 2016

On May 2, 2016 the Batumi’s Grand-Prix was finished. Thanks to the victories in the last two rounds, I was able to finish the tournament on the clear 2nd place with 6,5 points out of 11. Valentina Gunina won the event, Nino Batsiashvili took third place.

Read more…

March 21st, 2016

OSG Baden-Baden wins Frauen Bundesliga 2015/2016

  Hello everybody! Just wanted to let you know that on March 20, 2016 the OSC Baden-Baden team for which I play won the women’s Bundesliga title for the 2015/2016 season. I want to congratulate the whole team  – and our captain Thilo Gubler on this victory!

Read more…

December 31st, 2013

Holiday Greetings and Happy New Year 2014

Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk – the 12th Women’s World Chess Champion – would like to wish most happy holidays to all of you, wherever you are in the world. Celebrate with happiness and joy in your hearts. Let the season be full of kindness and love, and make sure to play some great chess too! Season’s Greetings and Happy New 2014!

May 22nd, 2013

How Alexandra Kosteniuk became the Chess Queen ®

Hello everybody!

Lots of people have asked me why I’m called the “Chess Queen”, so I decided to write an illustrated post about it. It all started in 2001, when I was 17 years old. My rating was 2469 and I had the titles of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and Men International Master (IM).

Read more…

February 15th, 2013

Chess Queen Kosteniuk Top Woman at Super Strong Aeroflot Blitz Tournament

Chess Queen Kosteniuk is the top woman finisher at the 2013 Aeroflot Blitz OpenMany people know that I love playing blitz chess, from my YouTube channel and from my DVD “Chess Blitz Fever“. Yesterday I played in what may be the one of the strongest blitz open tournaments ever, the Aeroflot Blitz Open, with over 270 players, of which 107 players were Grandmasters, and in total 182 titled players. Ian Nepomniachtchi won with 15.5/18 followed by Peter Svidler and Grischuk. I was the best woman with 11 points and the 48th rank, followed by Harika 72nd, Tatiana Kosintseva 92nd, Lahno 93rd, Zhukova 117th. It was a tremendously strong tournament. My performance was 2632, which makes my FIDE rating go from 2581 to 2612 in the next Official March 1 FIDE Blitz Rating List, that’s a new record for me! You can see my detailed results and the complete rankings. My best result was to beat 2-0 each in our mini-matches GM Bukavshin (2697) and GM Kobalia (2636). See also the reports by top USA blogs ChessBlog, ChessDom, and Chessvibes. NEW! 3 GAME VIDEOS POSTED BELOW!
Read more…

February 1st, 2013

Chess Queen Kosteniuk’s FIDE Chess Ratings Up over 100 Elo from 2012

Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk increased her Elo a lot in 2012I had great success last year playing chess tournaments, and was able to increase my FIDE Elo ratings by more than 100 Elo points on average from January 2012 to January 2013. You can see my FIDE rating card here. My ratings are now as follows: Classical: 2495, Rapid: 2575, Blitz: 2581.
My best results in 2012 were:
• European Rapid Championship: Silver
• World Rapid Championship: Silver
• Team Russian Championship: Team Bronze
• Team Russian Championship: Individual Silver
• Swiss Championship: Bronze
• Istanbul Olympiads: Team Gold
• Istanbul Olympiads: Individual Bronze
• European Club Cup: Individual Gold
• Mind Sport Games: Blitz Gold
(see my full 2012 review)


I hope to do well also in 2013, I’ll also be training a lot and playing many tournaments.
Alexandra Kosteniuk
12th women’s world chess champion


November 29th, 2012

Sign up for my Chess Queen™ & Chess King™ Newsletter

Hello everyone! I am working on a Newsletter in which I will let you know about my results, games, videos, activities, and offer super chess discounts for my Chess King Training suite of products. I will also run competitions with prizes, and inform you of how I am playing and where you can watch my games, in an applet or in video. You can sign up at one of several places, here on www.chessqueen.com (right column), www.chessblog.com, www.chess-king.com or www.facebook.com/chessqueen. It’s enough to subscribe just once, just make sure you confirm you want to subscribe when the conformation email comes.

October 12th, 2012

Chess Queen™ Kosteniuk beats Hou Yifan in Eilat 2012

Kosteniuk beats Hou in Eilat Israel European Club Cup 2012Today was the first round of the European Club Cup 2012 in Eilat, Israel. I am playing for the team “SHSM” which is composed exclusively of players from Moscow, with Russian Champion Gunina on the second board and Kovalevskaya on the 3rd board. We played against the top rated team Monaco, which has hired the current world champion Hou Yifan on the first, Humpy Koneru on the second, Anna Muzychuk on the third. So it was a fierce match, and especially the first board match was the most watched in the tournament, with me playing Hou Yifan, that is the 12th women’s world chess champion playing the current 13th women’s world chess champion. I decided to give her a little surprise, and for the first time in my life…

Read more…

October 1st, 2012

New FIDE Chess Ratings Published October 2012

The FIDE Chess ratings for October 2012 have just come out. After last year’s not so good results that saw me go from 2522 down to 2439, this year has been much better, and I’m now back to 2490 Elo, with my Rapid rating at a very respectable 2572. You can see my rating progress in the image below. This year’s events so far have been: World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Batumi (Silver and 4th place), European Championship in Gaziantep (11th in Classical and Silver in Rapid),  Russian Team Championship in Sochi (2nd on 1st board), Kazan Grand Prix (5th), Russia vs. China match in Saint Petersburg (top women result), Swiss Individual Mixed Championship (Bronze), Blitz Match vs GM Wang Hao in Biel (1.5-0.5), Istanbul Chess Olympiads (Gold Team Medal and Individual Bronze Medal). This year I still have in October the European Club Cup in Israel, then in November the World Championship in Russia, and finally the Sport Accord Mind Sports Games in December in China. A lot of chess events this year! 🙂

Read more…

July 27th, 2012

Russian Ministry of Sports Honors Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk with highest Title

Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk gets Honor by Russian Ministry of SportsPress Release: On July 20, 2012 the Russian Minister of Sports V. Mutko signed the decree [translation] to name 12th World Chess Champion Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk “Well-Deserved Sports Master of Russia” (in Russian “Заслуженный мастер спорта”), which is the highest title awarded by the State in honor of sporting achievement. The news came out on the site of the Russian Chess Federation [translation], on the Izmailovo Center page, and congratulations are flowing on Alexandra’s Russian Twitter page @kosteniuk.

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June 30th, 2012

FIDE inaugurates new Chess Rapid and Blitz Rating Lists

Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk's FIDE rating pageToday June 30, one day early, FIDE published the new chess rating lists. The big novelty is that new Rapid and Blitz rating lists have been inaugurated! So each player who plays all speeds of chess will have 3 ratings. In my case (see Alexandra Kosteniuk’s official FIDE rating page), on July 1, 2012 I will have 2472 ELO for classical chess (that’s +15 vs. last list), and I enter the Rapid list with 2568 ELO, and the Blitz list with 2505 ELO, which gives an average of 2515 ELO. I think that it is a great idea to have different rating lists for different styles of chess (classical, rapid, and blitz), as it is a fact that players have different success in different styles of play. In my case, I am close to 100 ELO stronger in rapid chess, which was obtained in having good success in most recent top level Rapid tournaments. Do you agree it is a good idea to have different chess ratings for classical, rapid and blitz chess? Please write your opinion in the comments or vote on the issue on www.chesspolls.com.

Read more…

April 4th, 2012

Photo Shoot Kosteniuk with an Andalusian Chess Set


Hi everyone!
I just want to share with you some nice photos taken today with a nice Andalusian Chess Set I recently got from ChessMaze International.
Read more…

March 22nd, 2012

Remembering my Coach Yuri Razuvaev

The 29th of December 2011, after finishing a long series of tournaments, I called my Coach Yuri Razuvaev. The last years I would always call him after tournaments and hear his opinion on how I had done. I had no idea that it would be our last conversation. Having just finished the European Championship, on March 19, I wanted to call him as soon as I returned home. But on arrival, I found out that he was no longer with us…
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March 20th, 2012

May 5 Tucson Chess Fest invites Chess Queen Kosteniuk

Press Release: 9 Queens brings Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk to celebrate Tucson’s chess community. Alexandra will be honored at the 5th Annual Chess Fest and will receive the 9 Queens Award. The event is sponsored by the Soroptomist International of Desert Tucson and Chess King software. Read the full press release below and mark your calendars if you can make it to Tucson on May 5!
Read more…

February 7th, 2012

Chess Queen Kosteniuk Joins The Princess Carina Organization Committee of Honour

PRESS RELEASE RELEASED FEBRUARY 7, 2012
by PRINCESS CARINA ORGANIZATION
& CHESS QUEEN ALEXANDRA KOSTENIUK:


Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk supports the “Princess Carina Organization”.


GENEVA, FEBRUARY 7, 2012 – THE 12TH WOMEN’S WORLD CHESS CHAMPION ALEXANDRA KOSTENIUK JOINS THE “PRINCESS CARINA ORGANIZATION’ S COMMITTEE OF HONOUR, A CLUB OF TOP INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITIES, COMMITTED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL CHANGE.


Read more…

January 27th, 2012

Chess Queen Kosteniuk opens new LIVE UStream Channel

Hello everyone!

Many people have asked me to help comment live chess games as they happen, so I opened an account with Ustream with nickname “Kosteniuk” (www.ustream.tv/user/kosteniuk). On Tuesday I made a broadcast in Russian, and today in English. Ustream keeps recordings of the broadcast, you can watch the English one here. During the broadcast I was commenting the LIVE games of Wijk aan Zee (live link here) and of Gibraltar (live link here) and answering any questions that were coming in the chat or via the social sites.

Follow my Twitter and Facebook to hear about next broadcasting days and times.

January 22nd, 2012

Chess King Software Super Combos

The best selling chess software combos Chess King and Chess King Pro (which include Houdini 2 and the huge GigaKing game database) and Chess King Training today have become even more affordable with a special “Free Shipping” offer until the end of January (regardless of where you live). Take advantage of this offer and get one for yourself of for a loved one. The Chess software Chess King has been top selling on the USCF web site and around the world.  The $50 coupon code “INTROKING50” has been extended so that more people can get it for $49 instead of $99 (and Chess King Pro for $99 instead of $149 for people who have a PC with at least 2 cores and wish to have the strongest chess program possible).


To find out more about Chess King, watch the ad below, or check the description, the tutorial, the FAQ, or the help page. Buy any of the free shipping combos, and any of the Chess King packages. We highly recommend the Chess King Training software disks in addition or complement to the Chess King system.

Read more…

January 20th, 2012

Chess Queen Kosteniuk presents the world’s most expensive chess pocket watch by Gangi

Hello everyone!

Following the June 2011 press release about my collaboration with exclusive watchmaker Pasquale Gangi, the day finally arrived (on January 15, 2012) when 5 numbered specimens of the famous chess pocket watch were created and ready to be presented to the press and to the public. This happened at the Geneva Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. I was full of emotions holding in my hand such a jewel, especially thinking it was created to time chess games. Let me share with you my photo album of the event below. Feel free to email me with questions or post comments below.

Read more…

December 27th, 2011

Kosteniuk & Team win Silver at World Team Chess Championships

Hello everyone!
The last tournament of the year is over, one of the most prestigious of the year, the women’s world team chess championship, in Mardin, Turkey. It brought Silver medals to all members of my team, Nadezhda and Tatiana Kosintseva, Valentina Gunina, Natalia Pogonina and me, Alexandra Kosteniuk. In this event, the Chinese, with Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun, Zhao Xue, Tan Zhongyi, and Zhang Xiaowen, were head above the others, and deserved the Gold. Georgia got Bronze, with Dzagnidze, Javakhishvili, Khotenashvili, Khurtsidze, and Melia, Congratulations to all!  See below for some photos of the event.
I am preparing Read more…

December 20th, 2011

Chess Queen Kosteniuk introduces Chess King software

Hello everyone!
As you know, Chess King with Houdini 2 , the new affordable professional chess software, has been out for about a week and we are shipping it worldwide. My husband and I and a great team of chess programmers have been working on it for the last 2 years and we are very proud of the result, it’s powerful enough for a GM and simple enough for a kid to use, and has exclusive features not found anywhere (the random mode to prove you can win an won game is unbelievably useful). And the price of $49 (with coupon code INTROKING50) makes it an amazing value, since it includes the strongest chess engine in the world Houdini 2 and the biggest GigaKing Chess Games Database. We are continuing the deals below until the end of the year since they proved so popular. Read about Chess King (launch, tutorial) and get yourself a copy!



Read more…

December 20th, 2011

Share Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk’s Chess Christmas Comic around


Hello everyone!
I you know any kids around you, please share with them my chess comic. Remember that giving a chess set or a chess book or a chess program for Christmas is a great idea!
Happy holidays!

P.S. See the full comic below. You can see or download for print all of my comics in several languages here.

Read more…

December 16th, 2011

Alexandra Kosteniuk wins Bronze Medal at Blindfold Mind Sport Games 2011

Hello everyone!
The 2011 Sport Accord Mind Sports Games are over and they were great! In the 3 events, I took Gold medal in the Rapid, 4th place in the Blitz, and Bronze in the Blindfold event. The only other player who also got 2 medals is Hou Yifan who got 2 Gold medals, in the blitz and in the blindfold, congratulations to her! The other ladies who got medals are Lahno and Dzagnidze (Silver & Bronze in the Rapid), Stefanova and Muzychuk A. (Silver and Bronze in the Blitz), and Cmilyte (Silver in the Blindfold). Thanks to Sport Accord for the kind words about me Read more…

December 15th, 2011

A. Muzychuk – Kosteniuk Blindfold Chess

Hello everyone!


I am now at the Mind Sports Games in China, playing the third event, which is blindfold chess. This is one of the games I played today against Anna Muzychuk. One often wonders how one would play chess blindfold, and actually, as you can see from the game, one can play quite well! In the position below, I was happy to find the winning move (for me, playing black), can you?



Read more…

December 11th, 2011

Queen Kosteniuk wins Gold at Mind Sport Games Chess Rapid 2011

I’m so pleased to announce that I won the first Gold medal at the 2011 Mind Sport Games women’s chess rapid event, with 6 out of 7 (wins against Zatonskih, Dzagnidze, Paehtz, Dembo, Lahno and draws againt Ju and  A. Muzychuk).  Silver went to Kateryna Lahno and Bronze to Nana Dzagnidze, congratulations to them too! The competition was very tough, read what was published on the official site: “The former World champion and Ambassador of the SportAccord World Mind Games, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk from Russia crowned a successful performance and even won the last game of the rapid tourney against Yelena Dembo. She became the first female winner of this very interesting competition. Finally, she scored 6 points out of 7 – what a brilliant result!”

Read more…

December 10th, 2011

2011 RT TV Interview of Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk (Spanish, 26 minutes)

Below I have embedded a YouTube 26-minute interview made by the Spanish channel RT TV this year about me and about chess. If you speak Spanish you will enjoy it. If you don’t speak Spanish, head over anyway to my YouTube news channel “ChessQueenTV“, as you will find clips there in many languages. By the way, did you recognize the famous chess champion sitting in front of me in the photo to the left?

Read more…

December 10th, 2011

RT TV News Clip from Mind Sport Games 2011

I just found this 1:13 minute clip in English from the Mind Sport Games that are taking place right now and in which I am participating, both as a player and as the official ambassador of the event. Watch the embedded YouTube clip.

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December 9th, 2011

Chess Queen Kosteniuk is Ambassador of the 2011 SportAccord World Mind Games

Hello everyone!

I just arrived in Beijing, China, and am very happy to participate in the 2011 SportAccord World Mind Games, which is like the Olympics but for intellectual Games. As you may know, I was honored to win the first Gold medal of the event in 2008 (news, Chinese news, final against Stefanova [game 1, game 2, game 3]). This year, I was elected the Ambassador of this prestigious event, and I feel very honored about that appointment. I’m playing the tournaments, and you can follow the results at the official site (home page, live games, YouTube). Wish me good luck! 🙂

December 6th, 2011

5th Kosteniuk Chess Cup in Svetlogorsk

On November 26-27, 2011 in Svetlogorosk (Kaliningrad region, Russia) the 5th Alexandra Kosteniuk Chess Cup among kids U-6, U-8 and U-10 years old took place. 162 young players from 24 cities of Russia, Latvia and Lithuania took part in this event. Every single participant got prizes. The full table of the results of the tournament can be seen here. You can see photos of the event here and here. It was a great chess event and was strongly supported by the local authorities.

The 6th Alexandra Kosteniuk’s Cup is announced and scheduled to take place again in Svetlogorsk from October 5 to October 7, 2012. I will post the regulations of this event here as soon as they are ready.

December 2nd, 2011

Chess Queen Kosteniuk featured in Chess Life Dress Like a Grandmaster

Hello everyone!
Nice surprise to see I was featured in the brand new December 2011 Chess Life Magazine, in a feature article called “Dress Like a Grandmaster” (click on the title to read it). Do you think chess players should dress nicely when they play a public tournament, or do you think it does not matter how they are dressed?
Press (Facebook) LIKE if you think the 2 photos were well chosen by the editor of Chess Life, and write your comments to this post below.

Alexandra
P.S. Check out my ARTICLES page (200+ articles) and my PHOTOS page (12,000+ photos).

🙂

 

November 24th, 2011

Watch Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk Play against the World’s Top Grandmasters

Hi everybody,

The new chess ratings of November 2011 are out. Due to not so great tournaments this year I’m at 2439, but dynamically I’m at +12 thanks to the great result at the recent European Team Championships in Greece. I now have 2 more important tournaments before the end of the year (the Sport Accord in China and then the World Team Championship in Turkey), so I hope to do alright overall. In my career, my best rating has been 2540 in 2006 and I reached 3rd woman in the world also in 2006. As for titles, I got the title of Grandmaster (men) in 2004 and the highest women’s title of 12th women’s world chess champion in 2008, defeating Hou Yifan in the final of the World Championship. I am also the current women’s world Chess960 champion.
Read more…

November 11th, 2011

Kosintseva sisters, Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina, Natalija Pogonina win European Team Chess Championship for Russia

 

Breaking News: Our Russian national chess team just won the European Team Chess Championships! 🙂

 

It was not easy! While our starting ratings were the highest and we were the favorites to win, it’s actually very hard to win when you are expected to win. I know something about that, for sure, having been Women’s World Chess Champion. Everybody looks at the favorites and makes an extra effort to beat them. Well in this championship we were able to keep our cool the whole event, I’m so happy we won!
Read more…

October 12th, 2011

Kosteniuk visits the Swiss Museum of Games

Hi everybody!

I finally have posted the photos from my visit on September 2 to the Swiss Museum of Games in La Tour-de-Peilz, close to Vevey, Switzerland. In French it’s called “Le musée du jeu”. If you ever pass by the French part of Switzerland, I recommend you go and see the museum, which is in a great location close to the Lac Léman. You will be greeted by its Manager, Mr. Ulrich Schädler, who will show you the treasures (many of which related to chess, of course) it contains. See the official web site of the museum for exact address and hours of operation. Below you will see some photos from my visit. There are more photos in my Photo Album Page.

Read more…

October 11th, 2011

Halloween Chess Queen Photos with Alexandra Kosteniuk

Hello everybody!

Since Halloween is soon approaching, we’d like to share with you the famous Halloween photos of Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk. Feel free to share them with all your chess friends. Please click LIKE if you like them.

The full link to the album on www.chessqueen.com is here:
http://chessqueen.com/photos?album=1&gallery=196

And on www.chesspics.com the link is here:
http://www.chesspics.com/index.php?e=125
(you can vote on the photos and see which ones are liked best).

Happy Halloween!

Read more…

October 9th, 2011

Kaliningrad get the visit of Chess Queen Kosteniuk

Hello everyone!

I visited the city of Kaliningrad on Wednesday for meetings to prepare for the “Alexandra Kosteniuk Chess Cup for Kids U-6, U-8 and U-10”, that will take place in Svetlogorsk (see tournament announcement) on November 26 & 27, 2011.

I made a post in Russian at this link, but for the moment I will share with you some nice photos of that day trip below.

 

Read more…

October 9th, 2011

Steve Jobs. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

I am very saddened by the news of the death of Steve Jobs last Wednesday. In a way, he has inspired many of us to be the best we could be, to create, and not to waste a minute of our lives.

I particularly remember the graduation speech he made at Stanford University in June 2005. I made a Livejournal post on January 9, 2006 about it.

I continue to wish to myself, and to all of you to “Stay hungry, and Stay foolish”.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs.

October 9th, 2011

Game Zhu Chen – Kosteniuk from the Nalchik Chess Grand Prix 2011

Hello everyone!
Below you can play over my game of the first round of the Nalchik Grand Prix.
You can watch the games LIVE at this link every day from 3PM Moscow time (That’s Paris time + 2, or New York time +8).
Read more…

October 7th, 2011

Chess Analysis Video Game Kosteniuk – Kurmann

Hello everybody!

I have received lots of emails asking to explain my game against Olivier Kurmann from Leukerbad (Loeche-les-Bains) from this summer’s Swiss National Chess Tournament. In one variation I was ready to sacrifice my Queen (with the move 20. Nxe6!). So I made a video where you can see all the details of the combination that started with 16. c5! and culminated in my opponent resigning after 20. Qh6! A nice miniature, especially nice since I played 1. d4 on the first move, which usually leads to quiet games, but that was not the case in this one!

Read more…

September 15th, 2011

Kings beat Queens in Saint Louis chess; Kosteniuk top Queen result

The beautiful Kings vs. Queens tournament, organized by the Saint Louis Chess Club is over. The Kings won by 31.5 to 18.5, with an impressive showing by Hikaru Nakamura who won the event with 9.5 out of 10! In second place is GM Ben Finegold with 7.5, then IM’s Marc Arnold and IM Jacek Stopa with 6.0. Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk, who finished strong with 4 wins in a row, is top woman (Queen) with 5.5, followed by Kateryna Lahno 5.0, Irina Krush 3.0, Anna Zatonskix & Martha Fierro 2.5. The full table, photos and a nice video can be seen below.

Read more…

September 14th, 2011

Kosteniuk beats IM Jacek Stopa twice in Saint Louis Chess

Hello everyone!

Here is the rapid chess game played today by Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk against Jacek Stopa of Poland (ELO 2482), in the Kings vs Queens Tournament organized by the Saint Louis Chess Club. Alexandra won both games. The final results of the tournament will be available tomorrow.
Read more…

August 24th, 2011

Kosteniuk in Neuchâtel Switzerland on September 3

Hello everybody!

Alexandra is now playing at the Russian Women’s Superfinal, but already next week, she will be giving a chess simultaneous exhibition in the charming Swiss city of Neuchâtel. Look below at the poster of the event, Read more…

August 3rd, 2011

Fischer – Larsen 1958 Commented Video on ChessKing Français YouTube by Damir Levacic

Hello everyone!

We share a YouTube video in French about the legendary game Bobby Fischer – Bent Larsen, Portoroz 1958.

Thanks to Chess King French commentator Damir Levacic for his excellent work! If you like the video please click “thumbs up!”. Feel free also to embed onto your blogs.
Read more…

July 20th, 2011

Alexandra Kosteniuk Chess Cup U-6, U-8, U-10 in Svetlogorsk, Russia on November 26-27 2011

Dear friends!

As you may know, each year I organize a tournament for kids, with many prizes and no entry fee, so I am glad to let you know that this year it will take place again!

The 5th Alexandra Kosteniuk’s Chess Cup will take place on November 26-27, 2011 in the city of Svetlogorsk, Russia. All kids born in 2001 and younger are invited to take part in this tournament. There is no entry fee and each participant gets a present. Read more…

July 16th, 2011

Kosteniuk 2011 Swiss Chess960 Champion

Hi everybody!
Today I am pleased to report that at the Biel Chess Festival I showed a good result in the 2011 Swiss Chess960 Championship, with a third place in the tournament and the best result by Swiss players.
I am posting some photos below and soon will post the full table of results, as soon as it is available.
As for my personal result in the tournament, I won against I. Lamoureux (2093), P. Lee (1876), GM Sebastien Maze (2578), FM Tom Weber (2324), and GM Christian Bauer (2637), drew against GM Boris Grachev (2680) and lost only to GM Tigran Gharamian (2670), total 5.5/7.

Read more…

July 15th, 2011

Kortchnoi and Kosteniuk Swiss Champions 2011

Hello everyone!

I just came back from the 2011 Swiss National Chess Championship in Leukerbad, Switzerland. It was won by GM Bauer with 7.5/9, followed by GM Sokolov 7 points. The best Swiss were the amazing Viktor Korchnoi (men) with 6.5 and Alexandra Kosteniuk (women) with 5.5. While I am not happy with my result (I started quite well with 4/4, but had a horrible end of tournament), I nevertheless had a great time in Switzerland (especially spending time with Viktor and his wife Petra) and played some nice games at the beginning of the tournament. I will soon post a nice game I won against Kurmann in that event.

More photos, statistics, to come soon! Tomorrow I’m off to Biel to play the Chess960 and Rapid events!

Read more…

June 24th, 2011

Gangi & Kosteniuk Announce Exclusive Chess Pocket Watch “Scacco Matto GMT3”


Hello everybody!

It is my pleasure to announce my partnership with the Italian creator and Swiss watchmaker Pasquale Gangi in giving birth to the most exclusive chess pocket watch ever made: Scacco Matto GMT3!

I have never seen such a beautiful watch that can be used to play chess! It is a true piece of art! Of course it has 3 time zones for big travelers, but also has a complete system to time a chess game, including the elegant flags that go up and down as time goes by. It’s extremely exclusive and reserved for the most discerning connoisseurs and chess collectors. It has 2 sides with different functions (see photos on this page). The base model is in Titanium, but individual models can be made with diamonds and other expensive gems… Read more…

June 17th, 2011

Kosteniuk’s ChessQueen Twitter gets 150K Followers

Hello everybody!

Today I reached 150,000 Twitter followers on my English @chessqueen account! I started working with that account in 2009 and am in my third year of tweeting, I’m totally hooked! I’ve started to tweet also in Russian and my separate @kosteniuk account has recently passed 2000 followers and is gaining momentum. Note that I often post on the Russian account photos that I don’t post on the English account, so feel free to follow both accounts. Twitter is amazing, it’s the fastest way to get news or to share news, if you’re not familiar with Twitter, give it a try! Read more…

June 8th, 2011

Kosteniuk Launches Chess Queen Couture Clothing Brand

Hello everybody!

I am pleased to introduce to the world a new line of chess clothing exclusively for ladies:
CHESS QUEEN™ COUTURE!

A competition was held to select the best artists for this project and I am very pleased of the result, I hope you will like it too. I’ve long felt that it is important to show our love of the game around us and to be proud of being ladies chess players. Chess Queen™ Couture embodies elegance and style, and is now available to be purchased by chess lovers around the world.

Make yourself or your loved one a gift that can be worn with pride. Available on the shop of our partner site www.chess-king.com currently in 2 models and 4 sizes S, M, L, and XL. More photos of the current models available are presented below. Buy one today! Read more…

June 7th, 2011

Kosteniuk Chess Tips featured in Top 10 Blog

Hello everyone!

Today the site Top 10 Blog published my top 10 chess tips.

I hope you find them useful. Let me know if you agree with the tips or would like to suggest more or different chess tips!

Posted by Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk
12th Women’s World Chess Champion

 

June 4th, 2011

Kosteniuk Posts New Orlov Chess Sets Photos

Hi everybody!

Following my visit to the Chess factory in Orlov last month (see my previous post of the visit), I was asked to make a photo series to promote the company’s chess sets.

A photo session was made yesterday with Pufichek (see other photos by Pufichek), and the result can be seen in this new photoalbum.

Some samples are below.

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