Alexandra Botez

About Alexandra Botez

Alexandra Valeria Botez came into the world on September 24, 1995, in Dallas, Texas. She is a dual American and Canadian national who has established herself as a prominent chess competitor, poker enthusiast, content creator on Twitch, and YouTube personality recognized for her competitive acumen and entertaining streaming presence. Her parents were Romanian individuals who escaped Bucharest and settled in the United States, where they started their family. Growing up, she lived in Vancouver, British Columbia before her family relocated to Portland, Oregon. Her father, Andrei Botez, brought her into the chess world at the age of six after working as a chess instructor and International Arbiter. She became part of the Golden Knights chess club under the instruction of Valer Eugen Demian before her family's move to Oregon for her secondary education. She pursued higher education at Stanford University and completed her studies in 2017 with a degree in International Relations with an emphasis on China. During her time there, she held the distinction of being the first woman to lead the Stanford Chess Club. Her sister Andrea, who is younger, shares her passion for chess and frequently appears alongside her in their streaming ventures. She embodies her family's Romanian heritage and maintains citizenship in both the United States and Canada, having represented each nation in competitions. Known primarily as Alexandra Botez, she operates streaming accounts under @BotezLive with her sister and maintains separate channels including @alexandrabotez for poker content on YouTube and social media. Her social media following is substantial, with approximately 907,000 Instagram connections, 262,200 TikTok followers, 1.88 million YouTube subscribers, and 1.3 million Twitch followers as of November 2025.

Her journey in competitive chess commenced at age six, culminating in a Canadian girls' national championship victory at eight years old in the under-ten division. Throughout her career, she captured five Canadian girls' national championships and claimed the U.S. Girls' National Championship title at age fifteen. She represented Canada across three Women's Chess Olympiad competitions in 2012, 2014, and 2016. She obtained the Woman FIDE Master designation in 2013 and achieved her best rating of 2092 in April 2016, placing her among Canada's top female competitors. Her playing approach emphasizes aggressive tactics and combinations, frequently employing the King's Indian Defense as an opening choice. A notable 2016 Olympiad performance against Anzel Solomons demonstrated her style, sacrificing pieces to execute a decisive checkmate. Recent competitive highlights include a 2024 victory against International Master Jan Karsten at the Reykjavik Open and winning the Sardinia World Chess Festival B-section with a nearly perfect 8.5 out of