Chessville - 20 Questions - Interview with GM Alexandra Kosteniuk

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20 Questions with

GM
Alexandra Kosteniuk

Alexandra was officially awarded the GM (men's) title at the 2004 FIDE Congress. She is the 10th woman in history to get that title, and the first Russian. She recently became the 2005 Russian Woman's Champion with an incredible result or 9/11. Chessville appreciates Alexandra's willingness to play 20 Questions with us! Chessville appreciates the assistance of Caren Park and NM Dan Heisman in the preparation of this interview.

Chessville: Describe a typical week in the life of Alexandra Kosteniuk.

Alexandra Kosteniuk: It depends on whether I am playing a tournament or if I am in between tournaments. When I play a tournament I am very concentrated and busy. I prepare in the morning, then play, then in the evening I quickly review the game I played and prepare for the next day's game. When I am in between tournaments, I mostly study chess and do my best to promote chess, for example playing simuls and visiting schools and clubs. If I am in Moscow I study with my coach at least three times a week for 5-6 hours, the rest of the week I study by myself or have some other training events, for example blitz tournaments or training games. If I'm in Miami, I do a lot of sport as well as studying chess. Normally I have one day a week where I can go out to the movies or to do some shopping.

Chessville: The past twelve months have seen you earn the (men's) GM title & win the Russian Woman's Championship. Which is the greater accomplishment in your eyes, and what has each meant to you personally & professionally?

AK: I was very happy to win the title of Russian Women Champion in Samara this year, it was for the first time in my chess-career that I won this title and I was very happy, because the tournament was very difficult. I was also quite happy to get the GM-title but it was not as special for me as winning the Russian Championship. I knew the GM title was coming since I had been beating several male GM's in the past.

Chessville: What do you consider your greatest accomplishment to date, and what does success look like for you (your personal definition of success.)

AK: My three main successes for the moment are gaining the title of Vice-Champion in the world in 2001, becoming the European Champion in 2004 and winning the Russian Championship this year. The (men's) GM title of course is a nice achievement, since it is the highest chess title available today. Success for me is reaching the goal that I set for myself.

Chessville: Were there any players you looked up to while growing up, wanting to emulate?

AK: I didn't really have any heroes when I was a kid. Now I feel a lot of respect towards all the champions who after reaching their goals continue to have ambitions for going ahead, working and fighting for even higher results. That's a wonderful example to follow.

Chessville: Who do you consider the best up-and-coming young female players in the world, aside from yourself? US? Do any of the current young crop of women have a serious shot at becoming the first female FIDE World Champion, or do you believe Judit Polgar will get there first?

AK: Many of the top women players in the world have a good chance, their level has been steadily improving. I can mention Katerina Lahno, if she will continue working on chess I think she can reach a very high level.

Unfortunately, sometimes it's not enough to be a talented player, you need to have a lot of support from the side, you have to find some people who are ready to invest a lot of money for your training, for you to be able to study with GM's. And a player has to be ready to dedicate all her/his life for chess, it's very hard work. If we speak about Judit Polgar she was lucky enough to be in such an environment that seemed to be created for her chess progress, and she had done wonderfully well.

Chessville: What are your specific match preparations against a known opponent or set of opponents?

AK: I look at their games trying to understand their strong and weak sides, coming from that I decide what I'm going to play against them. If I have enough time before the match I try to play some training games on those themes.

Chessville: How do you prepare psychologically for a game or match? What steps do you take to control your mental and emotional states leading up to and during a competition?

AK: For me the most important thing is not to think about the possible result during a game (i.e. winning, drawing or losing). So I just try to enjoy the process of playing, to focus only on the game and to keep my concentration focused as long as possible to always find the best moves.

Chessville: When you sit down opposite a male opponent, what are you aware of in his reaction to your personal attractiveness? How does this natural tension effect each of you as you play the game?

AK: I played a lot of games against male players, normally they only have a strong desire to win the game when they play against a female player. I need to be more concentrated and prepared when I play against a man than when I play against a woman, since it seems they try even harder to play well against me.

Chessville: What do you think about Susan Polgar’s initiatives to popularize chess, especially for girls, in the US?

AK: I think her work is very good for chess and our chess world needs to have more such enthusiastic players in order to promote chess in the world. It is our duty to try to make chess more popular and the more people like Susan or like me the better!

Chessville: Tell me about "Alexandra's Fund". Exactly what is this fund, and how are contributions used?

AK: My Fund has the idea to make chess more popular. Through the donations that I get from the people I can give more goodwill simuls around the world, go and visit children who have never seen a chess champion, and this way I can attract more children to the wonderful world of chess. Chess is a game which helps children in school and in their future life. Chess is good for all and for society as a whole.

Chessville: Do you think our culture will be able to make it more conducive for girls to stay in chess as they get older? What's needed to accomplish this?

AK: Chess is a great hobby, and if you like it you will always play the game and enjoy it. Girls tend to have different goals in life and so it is normal they tend to come and go to their favorite game. It would be good to have more chess tournaments for girls, and so show more that chess is very good for girls as it is for boys. All exhibition matches and big tournaments should have either women playing in it, or have a special women section so that girls can identify more with the game.

Chessville: Judit Polgar recently took an extended break from competition to start a family; what plans do you have so far as starting a family goes?

AK: Of course as soon as I decide to have children I'll stop participating in tournaments for a little while. I'll still do a lot for promoting chess, I also would like to create a chess school for children. Chess is a great game in which you don't necessarily lose your strength after a pause away from competitive chess, on the contrary you can come back to competition with an additional desire to play and have even better results.

Chessville: Your twin careers as a GM & a model must be very taxing on you. How do you balance the seemingly competing demands of the two professions you have chosen? Have you ever considered giving up one to concentrate on the other?
	AK: For me the only real career I have is my chess career. I do modeling as a hobby, and always with the specific goal of promoting chess. So in that respect I don't have any problems with two professions, since they both revolve around chess.

Chessville: Do you plan to come out with another book? If so, when and what will be the subject matter? It would be great interest to your fans if you could choose your favorite games and show how they influenced your style of play.

AK: Yes, I'm working on two books at the moment, they should be coming out pretty soon, but I'd like to keep the subject of the books secret for the moment. :-)

Chessville: Which games have been played, since your last book, have you thought were of particular merit, both of your own and those of other players?

AK: I've played a lot of interesting games recently and that's why I think of making a second edition of my first book in order to put more games that have been played recently. I am now making a point of always commenting very well my games after each tournament, this is very important, both personally for chess development, and also it will allow me to offer them to the world in a more interesting fashion than just the moves. In my comments I always try to give my thoughts at the time I played. [Ed.: For a number of her annotated games, see the Alexandra Kosteniuk page here at Chessville.]

Chessville: What are your opinions of the ACP and their recent meetings with FIDE?

AK: I think it's a good idea to have an association that supports the rights of chess professionals and help Grandmasters to communicate with FIDE. I am a member of the ACP and I support their efforts fully.

Chessville: What are your immediate career goals?

AK: This fall and winter I'm going to prepare for the upcoming world chess championship, that will take place in Ekaterinenburg in March 2006, I'll try to do everything that I can for getting the best result there.

Chessville: What are your long-term goals in chess? When you finally look back at your (hopefully) long chess career, what do you hope your legacy will be?

AK: I always try to play better. In chess it's almost impossible to reach the limit, so I always try to move ahead, to improve my chess level and chess understanding. I don't know how long my chess career will be, but my dream is to do something good for chess, because it's a game that gave me a lot in my life, and I think I owe a great deal to it. I want to give my love to chess to as many people as possible and produce games that will give pleasure to people to look over and study.

Chessville: What about your other interests? Your poetry? Which is your favorite of your own poems, and which authors or poets do you like to read these days?

AK: I have a lot of hobbies. The most favourite of them is of course sport. I'm a very active kind of person, I do a lot of sport for keeping in a good physical condition, I like running and swimming (I often participate in 5K races when I am at home in Florida), during the winter-time in Europe I also enjoy downhill skiing. I don't write poems anymore, but I enjoy reading very much. My favourite book is "Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov.

Alexandra & Oxana Kosteniuk then...

Chessville: Your sister, Oxana, has started to achieve some successes in the chess world on her own. Have you played an instrumental part in her development, or was she coached by others? What kind of chess future does she have, do you think?

AK: My father started to teach my sister and me chess at the same time. So at the age of two Oxana already knew all the pieces and the starting position. I started to play in tournaments early so my father needed to travel with me and he wasn't able to study as much with Oxana as he did with me. So at some point Oxana decided to do something else in her life. She is studying now in the Moscow State University in the journalism department. She still plays chess occasionally but she doesn't study it so seriously, it became her hobby rather than her profession.

...Alexandra & Oxana Kosteniuk now.

Chessville: What parting thoughts would you like to leave to the readers of this interview? Perhaps something we haven't touched upon yet, or something you would like to elaborate on.

AK: I would like to wish all readers success in their chess careers, regardless of what level they are playing, from beginner to GM, chess is always fun to play, and it is a most useful game for personal development. Let everyone show to all their friends and acquaintances how wonderful the game of chess is, by any means they can. So that they know that...Chess is Cool!

Click here or on the picture to the right to visit
GM Kosteniuk's personal web site!