ANNA USHENINA (born Aug-30-1985, 39 years old) Ukraine PRONUNCIATION: [what is this?] Anna Ushenina was the 14th Women's World Champion, winning the crown in December 2012. She lost the title to Yifan Hou in September 2013 in the Ushenina - Hou Women's World Championship (2013). WIM (2001); WGM (2003); IM (2007); GM (2012). Early years Ushenina was born in Kharkov where she still lives. She learned chess at the age of 7 from her mother and she attended what was then the Sport School of Olympic Reserves and is now called the Kharkov School of Physical Culture and Sports from 2000 and graduated in 2002. Her coach from 2000 until 2002 was Artiom Tsepotan, who is the founder of the live ratings site http://www.2700chess.com/. Championships: After winning a number of age based national girls championships, Ushenina won the Ukrainian Championship (Girls U20) in 2002 and the Ukrainian Women’s Championship in 2005. She participated in the FIDE Women's World Championship (2006) and defeated 2004 Women’s U20 World Champion Ekaterina Korbut in the first round before losing to the eventual winner and Women’s World Champion of 2006, Yuhua Xu. Two years later at the Women's World Championship (2008) held in Nalchik, Ushenina defeated Vietnam’s Thanh Tu Le, Germany’s Elisabeth Paehtz, and Russia’s Svetlana Matveeva before losing in the quarter finals to the eventual winner and 2008 Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. Also in 2008, she came third in the European Individual Championship (Women) (2008) held in Plovdiv. In 2012, she came =1st at the Ukrainian Women's Championship, but placed third on tiebreak behind Mariya Muzychuk and Kateryna Lahno respectively. She qualified for the FIDE Knock-out Women's World Championship (2012) and defeated Peruvian WGM Deysi Estela Cori Tello, Slovenian GM Anna Muzychuk, Russian WGM Natalia Pogonina, Russian GM Nadezhda Kosintseva and WGM Ju Wenjun to reach the final where she played and defeated former Women's World Champion, Bulgarian GM Antoaneta Stefanova, in the first set of tiebreakers after drawing the classical portion of the match 2-2. Her victory also gained her the Grandmaster title. Ushenina competed in the first event of the Women's Grand Prix series 2013-14, the Women Grand Prix Geneva (2013), scoring 6/11 and placing =5th, scoring 75 Grand Prix points. Her second event in the series was at FIDE Women's Grand Prix Dilijan (2013) where she placed 5th with 5.5/11 (+1 -1 =9), earning another 80 GP points. Qualifying for the World Cup (2013) as current Women's World Champion, she met Peter Svidler in the 1st round and after drawing with the Russian GM in the two standard games and in the 25 minute rapid game tiebreakers, she eventually lost in the 2nd set of rapid game (10+10) tiebreakers. Her win against Svidler in the 2nd game of the standard match earned for her the highest standard rating of her career. In September 2013, she lost her championship title to former champion Yifan Hou in the Ushenina - Hou Women's World Championship (2013) match by 5.5-1.5 (+4 =3). In April 2014, she played in the 4th leg of the Women's Grand Prix 2013-14, and scored 5/11 for an =8th placement at the FIDE Women's Grand Prix Khanty - Mansiysk (2014). In September, she played in the sixth and final leg of the Grand Prix series at FIDE Women's Grand Prix Sharjah (2014), placing 3rd-6th and earning 87.5 GP points. Her final best-of-three tally for the Grand Prix Series 2013-14 was 242.5, earning her 9th place in the overall standings. In March 2015, Ushenina competed in the FIDE Women's World Chess Championship (2015), winning the first round mini-match against Zhang Xiaowen but losing in the rapid game tiebreaker of the second round to Marie Sebag. In June 2016, she won first place on tiebreaks in the European Individual Championship (Women) (2016) with 8.5/11. Classical Tournaments: She won the Rudenko Memorial held in Saint Petersburg in 2004 and placed 2nd at the North Urals Cup (2008). She won the round robin Rector's Cup event in 2010. Team play: Ushenina won a Team Gold Medal playing reserve for Ukraine in the 37th Chess Olympiad: Women (2006) held in Turin, a Team Silver Medal playing board 3 for her country in the Women's Olympiad (2008) played in Dresden, and Team Bronze Medals playing board 4 for Ukraine at the Chess Olympiad (Women) (2012) and board 3 at the Chess Olympiad (Women) (2014). Other noteworthy achievements include Team and Individual Bronze Medals at the inaugural Women's World Team Championship (2007) held in Ekaterinburg and from top board she led Ukraine to a bronze medal in the 2nd Women’s World Team Championships in 2009 in Ningbo, China. In addition, she won individual gold at the European Team Chess Championships (Women) (2007), team bronze at the 17th European Team Championship (Women) (2009) and individual gold for board three at the European Team Championship (Women) (2011). She played board 3 for Ukraine at the FIDE Women's World Chess Championship (2015), her team finishing 5th. Ushenina played in the Women's World Team Championship (2013) in Astana, Kazakhstan in March 2013, helping her team to a team gold and herself to an individual silver with a 6/8 result on board 2. She also helped her team Ugra to a gold medal in the Russian Team Championships (Women) (2013). She rounded out the year with team gold and individual bronze playing board 2 for Ukraine in the European Team Championship (Women) (2013), and scoring 6.5/8. Ushenina played board 1 for the Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk region club in the European Women's club Cup 2014, winning individual bronze and helping her team to fourth place. She was also in the 2014 Chinese League, where she played for the Tianjing team. In 2015, she again played for Yugra in the Russian Women's Premier League, scoring team bronze. Award: In January 2013, the President of Ukraine awarded Ushenina the Order of Princess Olga, 2nd Class, in recognition of her winning the Women's World Championship.* FIDE ratings and rankings: Ushenina’s peak rating to date 2502 in July 2007 when she was ranked #8 woman in the world, her peak ranking to date. Sources and references Live ratings: http://www.2700chess.com/women Wikipedia article: Anna Ushenina * Wikipedia article: Орден княгини Ольги (Russian) Wikipedia article: Order of Princess Olga (English) Chessbase article following her win of the women's chess crown: http://chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211... Last updated: 2016-12-09 02:01:32

Try our new games table.

page 1 of 53; games 1-25 of 1,324  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. N Kosintseva vs A Ushenina   0-1 71 1998 EU-ch U14 Girls B07 Pirc 2. L Javakhishvili vs A Ushenina   1-0 62 1998 EU-ch U14 Girls A43 Old Benoni 3. A Ushenina vs R Gevorkyan   1-0 39 2000 Kharkiv Caissa Open E82 King's Indian, Samisch, double Fianchetto Variation 4. I Nester vs A Ushenina   ½-½ 54 2000 Kharkiv Caissa Open A90 Dutch 5. A Ushenina vs D Grin   ½-½ 37 2000 Kharkiv Caissa Open D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 6. G Matjushin vs A Ushenina   1-0 42 2000 Kharkiv Caissa Open B03 Alekhine's Defense 7. A Ushenina vs S Rybakov   1-0 40 2000 Kharkiv Caissa Open E84 King's Indian, Samisch, Panno Main line 8. A Ushenina vs K Askarian   0-1 39 2000 Kharkiv Caissa Open A53 Old Indian 9. M Kolkin vs A Ushenina   1-0 68 2000 Kharkiv Caissa Open A06 Reti Opening 10. Y Dissky vs A Ushenina   0-1 37 2000 Kharkiv Caissa Open C02 French, Advance 11. A Ushenina vs G Khodotov   1-0 41 2000 Kharkiv Caissa Open E10 Queen's Pawn Game 12. L Javakhishvili vs A Ushenina   ½-½ 46 2000 Wch U20 Girls A90 Dutch 13. A Ushenina vs N Hryhorenko 0-1 58 2001 UKR-ch U20W D10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 14. A Ushenina vs A Muzychuk   1-0 42 2001 UKR-ch U20 Girls A87 Dutch, Leningrad, Main Variation 15. E Danielian vs A Ushenina   ½-½ 46 2001 EU-ch rap (Women) A06 Reti Opening 16. A Ushenina vs Lagno 1-0 52 2001 UKR tt U18 3rd E00 Queen's Pawn Game 17. A Ushenina vs M Leonov   1-0 27 2002 Kaissa Open A81 Dutch 18. A Ushenina vs Y Solodovnichenko   0-1 24 2002 Kaissa Open A56 Benoni Defense 19. G Varchenko vs A Ushenina   0-1 34 2002 Kaissa Open D31 Queen's Gambit Declined 20. K Karanda vs A Ushenina   0-1 22 2002 Kaissa Open D52 Queen's Gambit Declined 21. A Ushenina vs E Andreev   0-1 24 2002 Kaissa Open B67 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 8...Bd7 22. S Guliaev vs A Ushenina   1-0 37 2002 Kaissa Open D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 23. A Ushenina vs A Yeremenko   1-0 27 2002 Kaissa Open D34 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch 24. M Simantsev vs A Ushenina   1-0 32 2002 Kaissa Open D45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 25. A Ushenina vs D Posohov   ½-½ 65 2002 Kaissa Open A80 Dutch  page 1 of 53; games 1-25 of 1,324

REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Ushenina wins | Ushenina loses

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 5 OF 6 ·  Later Kibitzing> Apr-11-13    cro777: In the penultimate round match Yugra - ShSM "Nashe Nasledie", at Board 1, Anna Ushenina (the 14th Women's World Champion) met Alexandra Kosteniuk (the 12th Champion). The game ended in a draw. http://russiachess.org/upload/ibloc... Apr-13-13    Alien Math: The first female Advanced Chess match in chess history | On April 2, 2013, the first female advanced chess match in chess history took place in Kyiv. FIDE Women’s World Chess Champion Anna Ushenina and the initiator of the All-Ukrainian Charity Foundation Olena Boytsun played a computer assisted game with the time control of 30 minutes + 5 seconds for each move. Kyiv’s Radisson Blu Hotel hosted the nation’s first officially sanctioned advanced, or computer-assisted, chess match on April 2 between reigning women’s chess champion Anna Ushenina and women’s international master Olena Boytsun. At the drawing ceremony, conducted by the International Arbiter Oleg Tovchyga, Olena Boytsun got to play white. The game lasted 38 moves and ended in a draw in the position with a little advantage for White, according to the estimation of Houdini chess engines. http://www.chessbase.com/Home/TabId... Aug-12-13    Karpova: Peter Svidler: <"I was in the state of panic when I saw the pairings. She is a very good player! Normally you want someone easier for the first round."> Source: http://www.chessworldcup2013.com/ne... World Cup (2013) Aug-12-13    OhioChessFan: Svidler was trying too hard to appear open minded or non-sexist or something. It strikes me as transparently patronizing. Aug-12-13    Karpova: <OCF> Or maybe prophetic as she puts up a good fight. After defeating him today, they proceed to tie-breaks. Aug-15-13    twinlark: When Svidler finally prevailed against Ushenina in the 10+10 tiebreaker, and probably conscious of the kind of feedback <Ohio> posted, he reiterated at the post-match interview that he had been serious about what he said about meeting Ushenina in the first round. Aug-15-13    kellmano: <twinlark> quite right. He also explained that he played five women at Gibraltar and scored +2, but felt that people thought he should have done better. He was making a comment about improvement in women's chess and I don't think he was patronising at all. Aug-15-13    FSR: The two games of Ushenina's I will always remember best are L Galojan vs A Ushenina, 2012 (Ushenina wins a free piece on move 5, and loses) and A Ushenina vs O Girya, 2013 (Ushenina draws with B+N against lone king). Aug-16-13    Beholder: <FSR: The two games of Ushenina's I will always remember best are L Galojan vs A Ushenina, 2012 (Ushenina wins a free piece on move 5, and loses) and A Ushenina vs O Girya, 2013 (Ushenina draws with B+N against lone king).> I'm sure you also remember quite vividly how Kramnik missed a mate in one against Deep Fritz. And how Kasparov took a move back in his game vs Polgar. Probably how Steinitz spit on Blackburne too. You know, to focus on the negative side of everything is generally not a good habit to have. It makes your own life less enjoyable for you. Aug-30-13    FSR: In fairness to Ushenina, she did smack Svidler around pretty well in A Ushenina vs Svidler, 2013. Aug-30-13    twinlark: Happy birthday, GM Ushenina! Aug-30-13    Penguincw: Happy Birthday to the reigning women's champ. Aug-30-13    ketchuplover: ditto Aug-30-13    dx9293: Happy Birthday! Rooting for Anna to prove the naysayers wrong and defend her World Championship title later this year! Sep-20-13    FSR: Sorry, the naysayers were right. Sep-20-13    SugarDom: Aye! Or is it nay? Sep-20-13    John Abraham: A disappointing performance for Anna but every disappointment is also a learning opportunity. Hopefully she will not allow this match to affect her morale and will be even more motivated in the future. On the other hand, I really think she should revert to brown hair, it is her natural hair color and suits her so much better: http://www.scacchierando.net/public... http://en.chessbase.com/portals/4/f... http://cs10119.vk.com/u5595148/1298... Sep-20-13    dx9293: <FSR: Sorry, the naysayers were right.> Sometimes, they will be. That's life. It's really interesting that I hardly see anyone else stick their neck out and root for the underdog in these matches beforehand. In both men's and women's chess it seems that a large majority of fans just choose the rating favorite and dismiss the lower-rated as somehow being an unworthy nuisance. I've seen this attitude towards Gelfand in his match against Anand, towards Ushenina in her match against Hou, and even towards Anand in the upcoming match with Carlsen. Even though the 2013 Women's World Championship match went horribly for Anna Ushenina, I would hope that she has gained some respect and admiration for her achivements in the chess world, especially considering that she hasn't enjoyed nearly the same support that some of her peers get. How much more could she have developed with similar support to what Hou, Humpy, A.Muzychuk, and the Turks, etc. get? Even Ushenina's countrywoman Lahno got significant financial support from a young age. Anna Ushenina is mainly a self-made chessplayer. I have a hell of a lot of respect for that. Sep-20-13    diceman: <dx9293: <FSR: Sorry, the naysayers were right.> Sometimes, they will be. That's life. It's really interesting that I hardly see anyone else stick their neck out and root for the underdog in these matches beforehand.> Its easier to <stick their neck out> for the slam dunk. Sep-20-13    keypusher: <dx9293: <FSR: Sorry, the naysayers were right.> Sometimes, they will be. That's life. It's really interesting that I hardly see anyone else stick their neck out and root for the underdog in these matches beforehand. In both men's and women's chess it seems that a large majority of fans just choose the rating favorite and dismiss the lower-rated as somehow being an unworthy nuisance. I've seen this attitude towards Gelfand in his match against Anand, towards Ushenina in her match against Hou, and even towards Anand in the upcoming match with Carlsen.> Utter horseshit. Anand, deservedly, has lots of fans who will be rooting for him in November. But if you're handicapping the match, then yes, Carlsen is a strong favorite. Many root for Anand but expect Carlsen to win. Speaking for myself, Gelfand, though of course a great master, was not a particularly deserving challenger. He was the survivor of a silly qualification cycle which produced a world championship match that not many people gave a damn about. Nothing like the anticipation felt for Anand-Carlsen and Anand-Kramnik, certainly. Ushenina was also the product of a silly WC cycle. She was no more the WC than Ponomariov or Kasimdzhanov was. I hope no one finds it objectionable that the new woman's WC, unlike her predecessor, can reasonably claim to be the strongest female player in the world. (More than reasonably, of course, if you don't count Judit Polgar.) Sep-20-13    dx9293: <keypusher> You said it yourself: many expect Carlsen to win. I would go further and say <most> expect him to win. Even me, though I'm rooting for Anand. It's hard to claim that Gelfand was an unworthy challenger after winning the World Cup, the Candidates matches (much better than deciding a Challenger based on most f---ing wins in a tournament), and drawing the Classical phase of the WC match. It's even harder to claim as since the match Gelfand has won the London GP, tied for first at the Alekhine Memorial, and won the Tal Memorial clear. The Anand-Gelfand match wasn't highly anticipated? So what? Gelfand was the first challenger to draw a WC match in played games since 2004, where Kramnik failed and Topalov failed twice. Chess isn't a popularity contest. Ushenina won her WC title the exact same way Hou did. For my comments on Ponomariov and Kasimdzhanov, etc. check out the Ushenina-Hou page. Sep-20-13    perfidious: The increasingly strident tone of <dx9293>'s posts, as he becomes aware that not everyone subscribes to his views on KO chess, and that he cannot simply browbeat or will others into submission, has its amusing aspects. Sep-20-13    twinlark: <Ushenina was also the product of a silly WC cycle. She was no more the WC than Ponomariov or Kasimdzhanov was.> Wrong. Actually she was. Karpov and Anand initially, then Khalifman, Ponomariov and Kasimdzhanov were products of a flawed cycle but they would have been the undisputed World Champions had the title not been split by Kasparov and FIDE, and had Kasparov been dethroned in a world championship selection event in the normal manner of OTB play. There is no such dispute here. Hou legitimately lost her world title in the 2012 World Tournament knockout match, losing both games of a mini-match in standard time to a 2400+ player, and Ushenina legitimately won the title to become the <undisputed champion>. Objecting to a flawed World Championship selection process is one thing, but there was never any dispute about who won the Women's World Championship as there is an unbroken succession since Lyudmila Rudenko in 1950 (Menchik if you ignore the 9 years between her death and Rudenko gaining the title) through Hou who also won in a knockout contest in 2011 through to Ushenina and again Hou. The argument is about a flawed World Championship cycle, as there is no logical dispute about title incumbents past or present. To say Ushenina wasn't a world champion because she wasn't number 1 in the ratings or near to it is just plain wrong. Hou is not number 1 and never has been, but she was and is again the World Champion despite Polgar's dominance of the women's game for the last 25 years. Sep-20-13    dx9293: <perfidious> I'm well aware that many chess fans disagree with my views on KO tournaments. I just give my opinions and my reasoning for them. Sometimes posters give good counter-arguments, but often it seems they haven't really thought carefully about what they're saying, and are misinformed. Sep-20-13    dx9293: <twinlark> Great post! Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 6) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 5 OF 6 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. Nothing in violation of United States law. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. No trolling. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers. Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times. See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator. NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific player only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors. All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC