Alexandra Kosteniuk’s Medal from the 2008 Nalchik, Russia, Women's World Chess Championship

In the final round of the 2008 Women’s World Chess Championship, Russian competitor Alexandra Kosteniuk (b. 1984) triumphed over 14-year-old Chinese contender Hou Yifan (b. 1994) to win the title. Kosteniuk had previously reached the finals in the 2001 Women’s World Chess Championship tournament, losing to Qatar player Zhu Chen (1976). Kosteniuk has used her position as Women’s World Chess Champion to promote the game of chess worldwide.