Alexander Motylev is a Russian chess Grandmaster and former European champion. He was born on June 17, 1979, in the city of Arzamas, Gorky Oblast, Russia. He earned the Grandmaster title in 2000 at the age of 20.
Motylev won the 2001 Russian Championship with a score of 7/9 and led Russia to victory in the European Team Championship in 2003. In 2004, he shared first place at the Aeroflot Open, a strong competition known for being one of the toughest open tournaments in the world. He continued his successful career by winning the Krasnoyarsk Governor's Cup in 2005, and the 2006 Corus Wijk aan Zee Chess Tournament after beating Sergey Karjakin.
His greatest achievement came in 2014, when he won the European Individual Chess Championship. He also served as a second for former world championship candidate Boris Gelfand from 2009 to 2011 and for current world champion Magnus Carlsen from 2013 onwards.