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Antoaneta Stefanova

Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria became women's world chess champion in 2004, when she won FIDE's knockout tournament in Elista. In the final she beat Ekaterina Kovalevskaya 2½–½. Eight years later she reached the final again but lost to Anna Ushenina after a tiebreak.

Antoaneta Stefanova
Photo: Andreas Kontokanis, 2007. CC BY 2.0. Cropped and toned.
  • BornApril 19, 1979, Sofia
  • CountryBulgaria
  • Women's world champion2004–2006
  • In the line of women's championsNo. 10 of 17
  • Highest rating2560 (January 2003)
    Again in May 2010
    FIDE's official lists (from July 1971)

The road to the title

Stefanova was born in Sofia in 1979. As a child she won the world girls' under-10 championship, in 1989, and in 1995 she became Bulgarian women's champion. In 2002 she won the European Women's Championship.

The title matches

Stefanova's points come first, then wins (+), losses (−) and draws (=) in the classical games. A tiebreak at faster time controls is given separately.
YearAgainstResultWhere
2004Ekaterina Kovalevskaya2½–½
Won the title · the final of FIDE's knockout		Elista
2012Anna Ushenina2–2, tiebreak ½–1½
Lost · the final of FIDE's knockout		Khanty-Mansiysk

Elista 2004

In Elista in 2004, 64 women played in a knockout tournament, and Stefanova won it. In the final she won the first two games against Ekaterina Kovalevskaya and drew the third, and no fourth game was needed. She was champion until 2006, when the title was decided in a new knockout tournament.

Afterward

In 2012 Stefanova reached the final again, in Khanty-Mansiysk. The classical games ended 2–2, but Anna Ushenina won the tiebreak. The same year Stefanova won the women's world rapid championship.

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Antoaneta Stefanova
  • Chess.com: Antoaneta Stefanova
  • OlimpBase: the knockouts of 2004 and 2012
  • FIDE: the January 2003 list and Stefanova'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