Alexandra Kosteniuk vs Bobby Fischer
Two chess prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Alexandra Kosteniuk | Bobby Fischer | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1984 | 1943 |
| Died | living / not documented | 2008 |
| Country of birth | Russia | - |
| Star sign | Taurus | Pisces |
Who they are
Alexandra Kosteniuk
Alexandra Kosteniuk arrived at the 2008 Women's World Chess Championship in Nalchik, Russia, as a player who had spent a decade on the edge of the title without claiming it. She had been a silver medalist in 2001 at only seventeen, a candidate multiple times, and a recognizable figure across the global chess circuit. In Nalchik she finally converted potential into the crown, defeating Hou Yifan in the final to become Women's World Chess Champion and cementing her place among the greats of the game. She was twenty-four years old and had been working toward…
Full biography of Alexandra Kosteniuk →
Bobby Fischer
On a July evening in 1972, in a stark hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, two men sat down to play chess with the eyes of the world upon them. One represented the Soviet Union, the dominant chess power that had held the World Championship for twenty-four consecutive years. The other was a twenty-nine-year-old from Brooklyn who had learned the game from a pamphlet at age six, who had barely slept in weeks, who had already threatened to withdraw from the match twice, and who was now the most famous chess player on earth. Robert James Fischer…
Full biography of Bobby Fischer →
What they share
- Both are held here under Sports.
- Same sub-field: Chess.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- 41 years separate their births (1984 and 1943).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Alexandra Kosteniuk or Bobby Fischer?
- Bobby Fischer. Alexandra Kosteniuk was born in 1984, Bobby Fischer in 1943.
- What field is each of them in?
- Alexandra Kosteniuk is filed under Sports (Chess). Bobby Fischer is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.