Merry Christmas! from a Family of Blogs

This year Christmas Day coincides with World Championship blogging day. The last time this happened was World Championship Chess on Christmas (December 2013), six years ago. Since all dates advance by one weekday every year -- except on leap years, where they advance two weekdays -- and since there was one intervening leap year after that 2013 post, the six year gap is entirely copasetic. In 2013, I wrote,

My first idea was to identify World Championship games that took place on 25 December. I thought of three events that fell over Christmas.

This year's idea was to do the same for the Women's World Championship, but the dates are not fixed so firmly in my head, nor is my head functioning correctly after the Christmas Eve celebration, which also did serious damage to my energy level. What to do? Keeping with the theme of Women's World Championship, how about some Alexandra Kosteniuk Christmas photos.

Google image search on 'kosteniuk christmas'
(no mention of 'chess' necessary!)

It turns out that I've already mentioned ('Sorry, Alexandra!') the 2008 Women's World Champion -- see 2008 FIDE Knockout Matches, 'Nalchik (Kosteniuk 1st)', for details -- in pre-Christmas post Mele Kalikimaka!, that time on Christmas Eve. After Pictures of Pia (December 2019), that makes twice in one month that I've based a post on photos of a top woman player.

Here's wishing a Merry Christmas! to all those who celebrate the day. • To follow the complete chain of previous Christmas posts, see A Cropped Christmas (December 2018), and please continue to drive safely...