Alexandra Kosteniuk

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk is a chess grandmaster and former Women’s World Champion. She was born April 23, 1984 in Russia. She learned to play chess by the age of five. At the age of 17, she made it to the final round of the Women’s World Championship. She was defeated by Zhu Chen. Three years later she won the tournament in Dresden, Germany and became the European Women’s Champion. She won the Women’s World Championship in 2008. She later lost her title in 2010 when she was defeated in the third round by Ruan Lufei.

Alexandra was the tenth woman to receive the title of International Grandmaster, in 2004. As of November 2011, she ranks 44th on the FIDE Women’s Elo rating with 2439. Today, she is a member of the Champions for Peace, a group of 54 famous athletes who are committed to serving peace to the world through sports.