This week’s guest, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, has won countless chess titles but is probably best known as The 12th Women’s World Champion and a perennial threat to retake that crown. GM Kosteniuk stays extremely busy, as in addition to being playing frequent top-level chess, she streams chess on twitch for chess.com, has been announcing high-level events and also somehow finds the time to work on her chess, spend time with her family, and even run marathons. In our conversation, Alexandra and touched on all of these facets of her life, and she tackled the following questions: What does she think of the format of the Men's World Championship? What about the announced changes in the Women's World Championship Candidates Cycle? What does she advise to study when one feels like they have hit a plateau? How can one maintain perspective when struggling at the chessboard? What advice would she give to young female chess players who may feel daunted by the preponderance of men playing chess?For someone who has had so much success, Alexandra clearly has a grounded perspective on chess and on life. When she is not battling at the board, you can follow her on twitter.

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