US Chess Women

Women are a growing segment of our US Chess community.

At US Chess Women, we envision a future in which girls, women and gender minorities take up their share of the chess world's offerings from titles to educational opportunities, better preparing them for life on and off the board and building community.

We take a multi-pronged and intersectional approach on our goal to empower women and girls through chess. 

For Girls: We believe that girls training sessions and spaces help build community that will keep girls in the game longer. With that in mind, US Chess began to host girls clubs in 2016 at our National events, which now draw thousands of girls to connect in between games, over casual chess and presentations by role models and top female players. Our girls clubs are held at Open (mixed gender) events, where girls comprise 10-25% of the players. Our goal is to inspire and connect, so they can enter the mixed arena with confidence and excitement. 

In 2020, we started our online girls club, which saw our concept reach new heights. We scheduled 100s events in 2020-2022, with thousands of sign ups, featuring dozens of special guests from 8-time US Women's Champion Irina Krush and top female player of all time, Judit Polgar, to the legendary World Champion Garry Kasparov. 

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International Network: Our Girls Club also partnered with two international organizations, the Lighthouse Chess Club and Business Meets Kids Meet Chess, to create our "Kenya Meet US Chess Girls Through Chess Initiative." This program allows Kenya girls and US girls to connect and learn about each other's culture through chess. Check out some videos from this program on this playlist, which includes a Swahili chess lesson. 

For Teens: Beyond their presence in the Girls Club ZOOM, We also have special workshops for teens, like our College & Chess Workshops, which show girls how to use chess to get a leg up on college applications, and how to combine academics, social life and chess.

For Adults: Bouyed by the success of the Queen's Gambit, our "Madwoman's Book Club" sessions in 2020-2021 was featured in Vanity Fair and the New York Times. Adult women are currently welcome at many of our US Chess Women girls club events. 

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Content: We produce content focused on accomplishments of female players and innovators, such as our YouTube Playlist of Girls Club highlights. 

Media: US Chess Women was featured on CBS News, as well as the New Yorker Magazine, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and WHYY.  

For Transgender Players: Our programs are inclusive to transgender players and gender minorities. Find out transgender policy at US Chess here. 

For All Genders: We encourage men to share and consume our content, which often features male leaders. Men who share our programs with their daughters, wives, friends and sisters is valuable to our work. Most importantly, we encourage men to model and set a high standard for treatment of women, girls and non binary players. Look for more opportunities to get involved in future mixed gender programming and find our Safe Play Guidelines here. 

For Organizers and Leaders: Thanks to supporters like the Saint Louis Chess Club and the Schiffrin family we have and will continue to offer grant cycles for tournaments and innovations that encourage female participation in chess. Keep your eye on our website for upcoming cycles. 

Find a more detailed article on our progress in the past few years here and articles related to women and girls in chess here.