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Anna Ushenina

Anna Ushenina of Ukraine became women's world chess champion in 2012. She was seeded 30th of 64 in FIDE's knockout tournament in Khanty-Mansiysk but won it, after a tiebreak against Antoaneta Stefanova in the final. The following year she lost the title to Hou Yifan.

Anna Ushenina
Photo: Andreas Kontokanis, 2016. CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped and toned.
  • BornAugust 30, 1985, Kharkiv, Ukraine
  • CountryUkraine
  • Women's world champion2012–2013
  • In the line of women's championsNo. 14 of 17
  • Highest rating2502 (July 2007)
    FIDE's official lists (from July 1971)

The road to the title

Ushenina was born in Kharkiv in 1985 and began playing chess when she was seven. At 15 she won Ukraine's under-20 girls' championship.

The title matches

Ushenina's points come first, then wins (+), losses (−) and draws (=) in the classical games. A tiebreak at faster time controls is given separately.
YearAgainstResultWhere
2012Antoaneta Stefanova2–2, tiebreak 1½–½
Won the title · the final of FIDE's knockout		Khanty-Mansiysk
2013Hou Yifan1½–5½ (+0 −4 =3)
Lost the title		Taizhou, China

Khanty-Mansiysk 2012

In the 2012 knockout several of the favorites went out early, among them the reigning champion, Hou Yifan. Ushenina, seeded 30th, made it all the way to the final. The four classical games against Antoaneta Stefanova ended 2–2, and Ushenina won the tiebreak 1½–½.

The match with Hou Yifan

In 2013 she was challenged by Hou Yifan in a ten-game match in Taizhou, China. Hou Yifan won four games and drew three, and after seven games the match was decided.

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Anna Ushenina
  • Chess.com: Anna Ushenina
  • OlimpBase: the 2012 knockout and the 2013 title match
  • Wikipedia: Women's World Chess Championship 2012 and 2013
  • FIDE: Ushenina's rating history

The facts on this page come from the sources above, checked against each other. Where the sources disagree, only what they agree on is given. The match results are also checked game by game.

Updated November 8, 2026