Maria Manakova (born 1 March 1974) is a Russian-born Serbian chess player holding the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM).

Born in Kazan,[1] she lived in Serbia for several years and played for the Yugoslav women's chess team.

Manakova was first board reserve on the silver medal-winning Yugoslav team at the Women's European Team Chess Championship in Batumi 1999, although she did not play any games.

[2] The following year, she competed in the Women's World Championship, where she reached round 2.

She appeared partly wrapped in a fur coat on the cover of the Russian magazine Speed in 2004, which along with her “forthright views", caused a stir in some circles, according to London's The Telegraph.