Julia Ryjanova

Julia Ryjanova at the 2015 Australian Women's Masters in Melbourne.
Country	Russia
Born	15 May 1974 Orenburg, Russia
Title	Woman Grandmaster (WGM)
Peak rating	2415 (January 2003)

Julia Ryjanova (Russian: Юлия Рыжанова; born 15 May 1974 in Orenburg) is a chess Woman Grandmaster and experienced chess coach. Ryjanova competed in the Women's World Chess Championship 2001 and was ranked in the FIDE top 50 highest rated female chess players in the world during the early 2000s. She has been the captain of Qatar women's chess team since 2008.

Chess career

Ryjanova was awarded the Woman Grandmaster title in 2000. She won the bronze medal in the Russian Women's Chess Championship in Elista 2000.

Ryjanova participated in European Individual Women's Chess Championships in Batumi 2000 and Warsaw 2001, and the European Women's Chess Club Cup in Belgrade 2001.

Ryjanova competed in the knock-out format Women's World Chess Championship 2001 in Moscow, Russia where she was eliminated by Tatiana Grabuzova.

She has been ranked in FIDE's top 50 highest rated female chess players in the world during the early 2000s, with her best ranking being the 40th highest rated female chess player in the world in January 2003, with a rating of 2415.

Ryjanova stopped playing in official competitions in 2003 to work as a chess coach in Qatar, and has been the captain of the Qatar women's chess team since 2008.

In January 2015, Ryjanova finished equal 4th in the Australian Open Chess Championship and won the 2015 Australian Women's Masters.

Personal life

Ryjanova is married to Russian chess coach IM Alexej Khamatgaleev, and they have a son Michael Khamatgaleev.