Alexandra Kosteniuk (Александра Костенюк) (born April 23, 1984) is a Russian chess player who became female European champion in 2004 by winning the tournament in Dresden. In November 2004 she achieved the International Grandmaster title, becoming one of the eleven women to ever receive the highest title awarded by the World Chess Federation, FIDE. She also holds the titles of Woman Grandmaster and International Master. She is fifth on the July 2005 FIDE women Elo rating list with a rating of 2516. Kosteniuk won the 2005 Russian Women's Championship, held from May 14 to 26 in Samara, Russia, finishing with a score of +7 =4 -0.

Alexandra promotes chess as a model in the hope of sparking interest in the game around the world. Her Website covers the events she is playing in and contains a large photo gallery. Her beauty is seen to be one of the reasons for her popularity. Because of her image, she has become known as the "Anna Kournikova of chess."

External links

• Kosteniuk's web site
• FIDE rating card for Alexandra Kosteniuk
• 20 Critical Positions from Her Games