Alexandra Botez

Alexandra Botez is a chess player and content creator best known for BotezLive, the channel she shares with her younger sister, Andrea, blending chess with humor, commentary, and livestream entertainment. She holds the Woman FIDE Master title, awarded in 2013, and established her public profile in chess before branching into poker.

A Stanford University graduate, Botez studied international relations and served as president of the university’s chess club, having chosen Stanford over a full chess scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas. Her background also includes technology entrepreneurship: she co-founded CrowdAmp, a startup developing tools to help online personalities communicate with their fans.

Her online persona even inspired the “Botez Gambit,” a tongue-in-cheek chess expression for accidentally losing a queen, coined after similar mishaps on her streams. Beyond the chessboard, Alexandra and Andrea’s success as creators earned them joint recognition on Forbes’ 2023 “30 Under 30” Games list.

In poker, Botez combines playing with content creation, documenting her development on BotezPoker, which she describes as a “chess master on a poker side quest.” Introduced to the game by her father, she has discussed working with Landon Tice and receiving guidance from Chance Kornuth. She has also described enjoying poker’s learning curve and the similarities between its tournament format and competitive chess.