Atousa Pourkashiyan | |
---|---|
Country | Iran (until 2022) United States (since 2022) |
Born | Tehran, Iran | 16 May 1988
Spouse | |
Title | Woman Grandmaster (2009) |
FIDE rating | 2270 (March 2024) |
Peak rating | 2374 (May 2011) |
Medal record |
Atousa Pourkashiyan (Persian: آتوسا پورکاشیان; Persian pronunciation: [ɒːtuːˈsɒː puːɾkɒːʃiˈyɒːn]; born 16 May 1988) is an Iranian-American chess player. She holds the title of Woman Grandmaster, which FIDE awarded her in 2009.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]
In 2023, she won an individual silver medal on Board 5 in the FIDE Women's Team Championship, helping Team USA reach the semifinals. [5]
Atousa married American grandmaster and five-time US Champion Hikaru Nakamura in 2023.[6]
She was in the news alongside Sarasadat Khademalsharieh when they competed at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship 2022, without a hijab, amidst the Mahsa Amini protests.[7] In December 2022, she changed her federation from Iran to the United States, where she currently resides.