Chess Queen Kosteniuk gets Order for Merit to the Fatherland
At the same time as I received the Certificate of Honorable Master of Sports of Russia last week (see post), I received officially the Medal and booklet representing the Order For Merit to the Fatherland. The certificate to me, Alexandra Kosteniuk was signed by President Medvedev. This award was given based on my win of the women’s world chess crown in 2008, and is extremely rare, even in the second class. Read about the Order For Merit to the Fatherland on Wikipedia. It shows how important Russia considers the game of chess and values champions who have brought fame to their country.
