Atousa Pourkashiyan

{{Infobox chess player

| name = Atousa Pourkashiyan

| image = AtousaPourkashiyan.jpg

| caption = Pourkashiyan in 2010

| country = Iran (until 2022)
United States (since 2022)

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1988|5|16}}

| birth_place = Tehran, Iran

{{Infobox person|embed=yes|spouse = {{marriage|Hikaru Nakamura|26 July 2023|}}}}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| title = Woman Grandmaster (2009)

| worldchampion =

| womensworldchampion =

| rating = [https://ratings.fide.com/profile/12502014/chart 2297] (March 2025)

| peakrating = 2374 (May 2011)

| FideID = 12502014

}}

Atousa Pourkashiyan ({{langx|fa| آتوسا پورکاشیان}}; {{IPA|fa|ɒːtuːˈsɒː puːɾkɒːʃiˈjɒːn}}; born 16 May 1988) is an Iranian-American chess player. She holds the title of Woman Grandmaster, which FIDE awarded her in 2009.{{cite web |url=http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/3850-titles-approved-at-the-1st-quarter-presidential-board-2009- |title=Titles approved at the 1st Quarter Presidential Board 2009 |website=FIDE.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812133959/http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/3850-titles-approved-at-the-1st-quarter-presidential-board-2009- |archive-date=12 August 2017 |access-date=26 April 2011}}

Career

Pourkashiyan is seven-time Iranian women's champion (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014) and a record holder among Iranian women chess players.

She was born in Tehran.{{cite web |url=https://ratings.fide.com/title_applications.phtml?details=1&id=12502014&title=WGM&pb=22 |title=Title Applications. 1st quarter Presidential Board, 5-8 March 2009, Istanbul, TUR |website=FIDE.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122050/https://ratings.fide.com/title_applications.phtml?details=1&id=12502014&title=WGM&pb=22 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=17 October 2015}} Pourkashiyan won the World Youth Chess Championship of 2000 in the Girls U12 category.

In April 2010, Pourkashiyan won the Asian Women's Chess Championship in Subic Bay.{{cite web |url=http://reports.chessdom.com/news-2010/ni-hua-atousa-pourkashiyan-asia-chess-champions |title=Asia Continental Chess Championships 2010 |website=Chessdom.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504133059/http://reports.chessdom.com/news-2010/ni-hua-atousa-pourkashiyan-asia-chess-champions |archive-date=4 May 2010|access-date=30 April 2010}} She competed in the Women's World Chess Championship in 2006, 2008, 2012, 2017.

In team competitions, she has played for Iran at eight Women's Chess Olympiads (2000-2014), the Women's Asian Team Chess Championship, and the World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad.{{cite web |url=http://www.olimpbase.org/playersw/vrxt7vpk.html |title=Women's Chess Olympiads :: Atousa Pourkashiyan |website=Olimpbase.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224103738/http://www.olimpbase.org/playersw/vrxt7vpk.html |archive-date=24 February 2016 |access-date=22 September 2019}}

In 2023, she won an individual silver medal on Board 5 in the FIDE Women's Team Championship, helping Team USA reach the semifinals.{{cite web |last1=US Chess |title=USA Finishes Fourth in FIDE Women's World Team Championship |url=https://new.uschess.org/news/usa-finishes-fourth-fide-womens-world-team-championship |website=US Chess |access-date=4 October 2023 |date=12 September 2023}}

In 2024, Pourkashiyan won the XV Americas Women’s Continental Chess Championship, qualifying her for the 2025 Women's Chess World Cup.{{cite web |title= Atousa Pourkashiyan Wins Americas Women's Continental|url=https://masterpiechess.com/atousa-pourkashiyan-wins-americas-womens-continental|website=masterpiechess.com|date=2 December 2024 }}

Personal life

Pourkashiyan married American grandmaster and five-time US Champion Hikaru Nakamura in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Svensen (TarjeiJS) |first=Tarjei J. |date=2023-07-26 |title=Hikaru Nakamura Finds His Queen, Marries Atousa Pourkashiyan |url=https://www.chess.com/news/view/nakamura-finds-his-queen-marries-pourkashiyan |access-date=2023-08-06 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}

She was in the news alongside Sarasadat Khademalsharieh when she competed at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship 2022, without a hijab, amidst the Mahsa Amini protests.{{Cite web |title=Iranian chess players Sara Khadem and Atousa Pourkashiyan compete in international tournament without hijab |url=https://news.sky.com/story/iranian-chess-players-sara-khadem-and-atousa-pourkashiyan-compete-in-international-tournament-without-hijab-12775216 |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=Sky News |language=en}} In December 2022, she changed her federation from Iran to the United States, where she currently resides.

References

External links

{{FIDE|name=Atousa Pourkashiyan}}
{{365Chess.com player|Atousa_Pourkashiyan}}
{{Chessgames player|84014|Atousa Pourkashiyan}}
{{Chessclub player|atousa}}
{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/arts/story/2004/06/040611_ag-chess-champion.shtml |title=روز هفتم: آتوسا پورکاشیان، قهرمان شطرنج نوجوانان آسيا و جهان |trans-title=Day 7: Atousa Pourkashiyan, Asian and world youth chess champion |work=BBC Persian |language=fa |date=11 June 2004}} [https://www-bbc-com.translate.goog/persian/arts/story/2004/06/040611_ag-chess-champion?_x_tr_sl=fa&_x_tr_tl=en English translation].

{{Succession box

| title = Women's Asian Chess Champion

| years = 2010

| before = Zhang Xiaowen

| after = Harika Dronavalli

}}

Category:1988 births

Category:Living people

Category:Chess Woman Grandmasters

Category:21st-century Iranian chess players

Category:Iranian female chess players

Category:World Youth Chess Champions