Alexandra Kosteniuk's CHESSQUEEN.COM

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


Archive for May, 2011

May 30th, 2011

Kosteniuk Interview and Photos in Sharp Magazine June 2011

Hello everybody!

Today I got hold of the June 2011 issue of the magazine SHARP (Russian Edition), and found the long awaited  interview I gave last month with some really beautiful pictures. As soon as I get permission from the publisher I will post some more, but for the moment here is a preview… Read more…

May 29th, 2011

Photos from the Kosteniuk Culinary Event in St. Petersburg

Hello everybody!

It’s a pleasure to share with you some of the best photos taken during the May 20 Culinary event (see the Press Release here), organized by the Norwegian Seafood Export Council in St. Petersburg, Russia. The photos were taken by photographer Alexandra Belensky (Александр Беленький) whom we thank for allowing us to use them in this post. As you can see from the images, everyone had a great time at this event!

It was a great combination food and chess, like we had last year in Moscow. The goal of these chess-culinary classes is to prove that there is a little champion in each child and we just need to help kids to discover this talent. Healthy living habits, sport exercises and of course chess can help a kid to grow into a happier, healthier and smarter person.

Read more…

May 23rd, 2011

Happy 60th Birthday to Anatoly Karpov

Hello everybody!

Today I’d like to wish a most wonderful birthday to the 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Evgenievich Karpov.

There is a lot that connects me to Anatoly, and not only our initials (we’re both “A.K.”!)

In the photo you can see me getting an autograph from Anatoly when I was only 6 years old, in 1990. That autograph was one of my most prized possessions, and stimulated me to work hard on chess. Little did I know that Read more…

May 22nd, 2011

1997 Eurovision Chess Documentary Kosteniuk To Become a Queen

Hello everyone!

I looked back at all the documentary videos I have in my collection, and for sure one of the best, if not THE best is the following one, made by Eurovision, in 1997, when I had just won the Girls Under-12 World Chess Championship. The documentary is called “To Become a Queen”.

As they say, “the rest is history…”.
Read more…

May 18th, 2011

Kosteniuk to give Culinary Master Class in St. Petersburg on May 20, 2011

Hello everybody!

Now that the European Championship is over, tomorrow I fly to Moscow and then immediately to St. Petersburg where I will give a Culinary Master-Class with the Norwegian Seafood Council on May 20, 2011, at 4 PM at the Stroganoff Steak House (Строганофф Стейк Хауз). Below you can find the Press Release in English & Russian. You can also download the Russian Press Release or the English Press Release. I also have a blog on the site zdr.ru (in Russian about health).

Read more…

May 18th, 2011

European Championship Tbilisi 2011 ends

Dear all! The Women’s European Chess Championship 2011 is over, it went pretty badly for me at the end and my result is far below that I was hoping for, and in total contrast to my win in Olginka just a couple weeks ago. The first 3 winners in Tbilisi were Viktorija Cmilyte, Antoaneta Stefanova, and Elina Danielian, whom I congratulate wholeheartedly. However, for me, life goes on, and as soon as I get back home I will post some of my games from Olginka and Tbilisi with comments on my blog. But now in my next post I will to announce a very special event that will take place in Saint Petersburg on May 20th.

May 6th, 2011

Tbilisi sightseeing tour by Kosteniuk

Hello everybody!

Today I had a wonderful day in Tbilisi. I decided to do a little sightseeing since from tomorrow on I will be very busy with the tournament. In this post I will show you lots of photos of Tbilisi, it is so beautiful! So follow me on my journey! I started my visit by Read more…

May 5th, 2011

Women’s European Chess Championship 2011 in Tbilisi, Georgia

Hello everybody!
I just arrived to Tbilisi. The women’s European Chess Championship 2011 will start in 2 days. I have one extra day to enjoy the capital of Georgia, all the more so it’s my first time in this country.

The first thing I noticed after arrival Read more…

May 5th, 2011

Kosteniuk Fashion Photos by Pufichek

Below you can see some of my fashion photos, taken by Pufichek.
Read more…

May 5th, 2011

Kosteniuk Fashion Photos by Pierre-William Henry

Hello everybody!
Here are 3 fashion photo series, taken by Swiss photographer Pierre-William Henry.
Read more…

May 5th, 2011

Kosteniuk Fashion Photos by Dolgina and Minkovich

Hello everybody!
Below you can see some of my fashion photos. The first one is from 2001, when I was 17 years old, FIDE invited me to the the official face of chess. Then I met well-known photographer Zhenia Minkovich in Paris who made a photo series for the magazine Vogue, and another one, also in Paris.
Read more…

May 5th, 2011

Kosteniuk visits Macedonia, day 2

Hello everyone!

As I promised earlier here is the post about my second day in Skopje.

The day started with a morning TV-show program recording.  Read more…

May 2nd, 2011

Kosteniuk visits Macedonia, day 1

Hello everybody!

Right now I’m in Skopje, the capital of FYROM (Makedonija). I was invited to Macedonia by the company Asseco (Асеко) in order to promote chess in the country. This company believes that chess can help kids perform better in school and later on in life. That’s why after the opening a chess club in Skopje which I visited today, they are also planning on starting chess programs in the schools of the Macedonia. They invited me to the country because they want to break the image of chess as a boring game for middle-aged people and bring more youth and kids to the game.
Read more…

May 2nd, 2011

Kosteniuk visits chess factory in Orlov

Hello everybody!

After the Russian Team Championship and before the start of the women’s European Chess championship in Georgia on May 7 I had a small break between my chess tournaments, but not without chess.

On April 29 by the invitation of the Governor of the Kirov region – Nikita Belyh I visited a very unique place – a chess factory in the Russian city of Orlov in the Kirov region of Russia. The factory was created in 1939 and starting from 1951 produces different chess sets. It’s one of the biggest chess sets producers in Russia and I was amazed by a chance to witness the birth of the chess pieces! See below for more photos.

Read more…