Even the ones who do not play chess know that the Queen is the most powerful piece on a chessboard. And Russian chess prodigy Aleksandra Goryachkina has proven herself to be the Queen of the chessboard as she won the Women’s Chess World Cup 2023 which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan. On winning the tournament, Aleksandra Goryachkina won a cash prize of $50,000 along with a trophy. Her victory is quite special as she missed winning the title and was declared a runner-up in 2021, but this year, she takes home the trophy. Here’s all that you need to know about Grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkina.
Who is Aleksandra Goryachkina?
Aleksandra Goryachkina is the world’s number two female chess player after China’s Hou Yifan. In chess, there are ratings which determine how good of a player you are, and Aleksandra is the highest-rated female Russian chess player in the world. Before the Women’s Chess World Cup 2023, she won the Russian Women’s Chess Championship three times!
Interest in chess
Aleksandra Goryachkina took a liking to chess from a young age and was inspired by her parents, both of who have a ranking of over 2200. Born on September 28, 1998, Goryachkina has gone on to win U-10, U-14 and U-18 chess championships as well. Not just these tournaments but the 25-year-old has also won the World Junior Champion twice.
Teenage Grandmaster
After facing a couple of setbacks in terms of her rating between 2015 to 2018, Aleksandra Goryachkina went on to become the world’s fifth-youngest female Grandmaster when she was 19 years old. Post becoming a Grandmaster, Goryachkina’s rating surged which got her name listed in the world’s top 10 female players.
Also read: International Chess Day: Top 5 Female Chess Players Who Are The Queens Of Chessboard
Women’s Chess World Cup 2023
Aleksandra beat Nurgyul Salimova, the Bulgarian professional chess player in this year’s world tournament. Both these established players are also selected to play at the upcoming Women’s Candidates Tournament 2024.