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In this article, the patronymic is Yuryevna and the family name is Goryachkina.
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Aleksandra Goryachkina
Aleksandra Goryachkina - Tan Zhongyi, Women's Candidates Tournament 2024 01 (cropped).jpg
Goryachkina at the Women's Candidates Tournament 2024
Full name Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
Country Russia
Born (1998-09-28) 28 September 1998 (age 26)
Orsk, Russia
Title Grandmaster (2018)
FIDE rating 2582 (June 2025)
Peak rating 2611 (August 2021)

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina (Russian: Александра Юрьевна Горячкина; born 28 September 1998) is a Russian chess player. She holds the highest title in chess, Grandmaster (GM). She is one of the top women chess players in the world. She is also the highest-rated Russian woman in chess history. Her highest rating was 2611.

Goryachkina challenged for the Women's World Chess Championship in 2020. She lost in a fast tie-break game to Ju Wenjun. She has won the Russian Women's Chess Championship three times: in 2015, 2017, and 2020. In August 2023, she won the FIDE Women's World Cup.

Aleksandra grew up in a chess family. Her father is a chess coach. Both of her parents are strong chess players. She quickly became a chess prodigy, meaning she was very talented at a young age. She won many world championships for young players. At 13, she became one of the youngest Woman Grandmasters (WGM) ever. She then became one of the youngest women to earn the Grandmaster title when she was a teenager in 2018.

Early Life and Family

Goryachkina with father (cropped)
Aleksandra with her father (2015)

Aleksandra Goryachkina was born on September 28, 1998. She was born in Orsk, Russia. Her parents, Larisa Matvienko and Yuri Goryachkin, are both skilled chess players. Her father is a FIDE Master (FM) and a chess coach. Her mother is also a strong player. Aleksandra has a younger sister, Oksana, who also plays chess.

At first, Aleksandra was not very interested in chess. She preferred dancing and playing table tennis. But when she was six, she started to play. Her father brought her to his chess school. Aleksandra mostly taught herself by watching her father's classes. Her father became her first coach.

By age nine, Aleksandra could beat her mother at chess. Soon after, she could beat her father too. In 2011, Aleksandra and her father moved to Salekhard. This was so she could train at a special chess school. Her father also worked there as a coach. Later, her mother and sister joined them. At the school, she trained with Vladimir Belov, a Russian Grandmaster.

Chess Career Highlights

Becoming a Young Champion (2008–2014)

AlexandraGoryachkina13c (cropped)
Aleksandra at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in 2013

Aleksandra was very successful in youth chess tournaments. She won five gold medals in the girls' World Youth and World Junior Chess Championships. She won the under-10 title in 2008. She also won the under-14 title in 2011. In 2012, she won the under-18 title. She won the under-20 World Junior Championship twice, in 2013 and 2014.

Her best performance was in 2011. She scored a perfect 9 wins out of 9 games in the under-14 event. She also won many gold medals at the European Youth Chess Championship.

Aleksandra's chess rating grew quickly. In 2009, at age ten, her rating reached 2000. In 2011, at age twelve, her rating jumped almost 300 points. She earned the Woman International Master (WIM) title. In 2012, she became a Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She was only 13 years old. This made her one of the youngest WGMs ever.

She continued to improve in 2013 and 2014. She played in the Tata Steel C Tournament, a big international event. She also played in the Russian Women's Championship Superfinal. She beat two Grandmasters who were rated very highly.

Teenage Grandmaster and Russian Champion (2015–2018)

Russian superfinal 2017 (cropped)
Aleksandra (center) holding the winner's prizes at the 2017 Russian Women's Championship Superfinal

In 2015, Aleksandra's rating reached 2500 for the first time. She made her debut in the Women's World Chess Championship. She won her first Russian Women's Championship at age 16. This performance also helped her get closer to the Grandmaster title.

In 2017, she won a silver medal at the European Individual Women's Championship. She also won her second Russian Women's Championship. She won after a fast tie-break game.

In April 2018, Aleksandra earned her third and final Grandmaster (GM) norm. This means she met the requirements to become a Grandmaster. She was 19 years and 5 months old. This made her the fifth-youngest woman to earn the GM title. Her rating reached a new high of 2535. She entered the top 10 women players in the world for the first time.

Challenging for the World Title (2019–Present)

2020 russian superfinal champions
Aleksandra Goryachkina (left) and Ian Nepomniachtchi, winners of the women's and open sections at the 2020 Russian Championship Superfinal

In 2019, Aleksandra had a big breakthrough. She won the Women's Candidates Tournament by a large margin. She won with two rounds to spare. This victory meant she would challenge the reigning Women's World Chess Champion, Ju Wenjun. She became the No. 3 woman player in the world.

The World Championship match happened in January 2020. The first half was in China, and the second half was in Russia. The match was very close. They tied in the regular games, so they played fast tie-break games. Ju Wenjun won the tie-breaks and kept her title.

After the World Championship, Aleksandra played in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix. She performed very well, winning the overall Grand Prix series. In 2020, she won her third Russian Women's Championship. She won after a special "armageddon" tie-break game.

In 2021, Aleksandra reached her highest rating of 2611. This is the fourth-highest rating ever achieved by a female player. She played in the 2023 Women's Candidates Tournament. She won her first match but lost in the semifinals. In August 2023, she won the Women's Chess World Cup.

Team Competitions

Aleksandra has played for Russia in many team events. These include the European Team Championship, the World Team Championship, and the Chess Olympiad.

Youth Team Events

In 2012, she helped Russia win a gold medal at the under-18 girls' European Team Championship. She played on the top board. In 2014, she played in the under-16 Chess Olympiad. Russia won a silver medal. Aleksandra also won a special award for a brilliant game where she sacrificed her pieces.

International Team Events

Aleksandra first played for the Russian national women's team in 2013. Russia won a silver medal at the European Team Chess Championship. In 2015, she helped Russia win a silver medal at the Women's World Team Championship. Later that year, she won both individual and team gold medals at the Women's European Team Championship.

She made her Chess Olympiad debut in 2016. In 2017, she helped Russia win a team gold medal at the World Team Championship. Russia won another gold medal at the European Team Championship later that year. In 2018, she won a bronze medal at the Chess Olympiad. In 2019, Russia won a silver medal at the World Team Championship. They then won their third straight European Team Championship.

Historical Achievements

Aleksandra Goryachkina is the fourth-highest rated woman in chess history. Her peak rating was 2611 in August 2021. Only Judit Polgár, Hou Yifan, and Koneru Humpy have been rated higher. She is also the highest-rated Russian woman in chess history.

Playing Style

Aleksandra often starts her games with 1.d4 when playing with the white pieces. This is called the Queen's Pawn Game. She often uses the Queen's Gambit Declined or the Catalan Opening. When playing with the black pieces, she often uses the Slav defence against 1.d4. Against 1.e4, she often uses the Caro-Kann.

Personal Life

Outside of playing in tournaments, Aleksandra loves teaching chess. She helps at her father's chess school. She also gives special classes. She used to teach online through Discord. Now she mostly teaches in person. She still uses Discord to practice her English. Aleksandra is also interested in cosmetology and classical music.

Notable Games

Ali Marandi vs. Goryachkina, Győr 2014
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Position after 16. Be2 Rxh2 17. Rxh2 Qxg3+ 18. Rf2 Ng4 19. fxg4 Bh4
  • Cemil Can Ali Marandi (2423) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (2441), 2014 World Youth Chess Olympiad (under-16): Round 7; Slav defence, 0–1.

This game won a special "brilliancy prize." Aleksandra, playing as Black, sacrificed a rook and a knight to create a strong attack. Even though it was risky, her brave play led to a win.

See Also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Aleksandra Goryachkina para niños

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