The year 2022 has been declared the Year of Women’s Chess by the International Chess Federation. This declaration is in line with the FIDE Women’s Commission's mission of making gender equity policies, along with programs, and practices.
The Commission of Women’s Chess has expressed their gratitude towards the President of FIDE, Mr.Arkady Dvorkovich, the management, as well as the council for making new history and declaring the year 2022 as the year of women’s chess.
Dedicating the year for women’s chess could be said as a culmination of the recent trend of uplifting female participation in chess. Encouraging women to actively participate in chess has long been deliberated, strategized, and finally executed. The efforts seem to have finally paid off with the official announcement by the International Chess Federation.
Rooting for Women in Chess
As per a press release by FIDE, the announcement is part of the federation’s goals to involve women in all aspects of chess and not merely as players. There will be free educational seminars that equip them for various positions and assignments within the federation following the implementation of gender quotas.
FIDE has always strived to ensure better conditions and encouragement for top female chess players from increasing the prize funds on women-oriented competitions to inspiring, educating and connecting female players around the world.
Here are some of the collaborations planned by FIDE to mark the year of women’s chess:
Come up with a yearly award for women in diverse categories of the chess community.
Closely work with FIDE’s national federations to choose and nominate Women Ambassadors for their countries as well as to help them organize women/girl-oriented chess programs and events.
Conduct “Global Exchange Forums” to share and discuss ideas towards the betterment of the environment for female chess players.
Create an exclusive “Queens Pavilion” during the upcoming Chess Olympiad 2022 in Moscow.
Strengthen ties with other FIDE commissions to support and encourage the inclusion of women in all aspects of chess, especially for the year 2022.
Plan more elaborate events and participation for the second edition of “The Queens Festival” to be held in 2022.
Weekly promotion of inspirational female chess role models through FIDE channels.
The Queen’s Gambit 2022!
When 15-year-old Eline Roebers defeated GM Vyacheslav at the Untergrombach Open on 8th January 2022, her victory coincidentally echoed with FIDE’s new spotlight on women and chess. Roebers became the first-ever female winner of the tournament.
The highly talented Dutch teenager defeated GM Vyacheslav in the final round of the Open tournament, grabbing sole first place with 6.5/7. Still new to titles, Roebers was already leading the tournament with 5.5/6. Roebers proved her nerves as her opponent struggled with time trouble and had to resign, leaving the €1,000 first prize to the young girl.
The young player’s alarming victory adds much momentum to the year’s highlight on women’s talent and FIDE’s goals in the direction.
The Queen’s Festival 2021
Organised by FIDE in June 2021, the Global Women’s Online Chess Challenge was a tremendous success with a huge response and participation of over 460 female players from a total of 82 countries. The challenge is a series of global women’s online chess tournaments that calls for the participation of female players from all five continents.
Inspired by the appeal and success of the Netflix show “The Queen’s Gambit”, the event promotes not just female players, but also women arbiters, organizers, influencers, leaders, and more from all levels, backgrounds and countries. Also, FIDE encouraged female presenters and role model guests on its social media.
The Julius Baer Challenge
The efforts to showcase women’s chess and elevate the involvement of women in chess aren’t a new agenda. Of late, a lot of attention has been shed over women and chess, including the phenomenal success of the 2020 Netflix show Queen’s Gambit that turned a much-desired spotlight on female chess players.
A predecessor to the Queen’s Festival in highlighting female participation in chess was the Julius Baer Challengers Chess launched by the Play Magnus Group in April 2021. The tournament that primarily aimed at catapulting young chess stars to better competitive platforms was nominated for the prestigious ESG Award for its attempts at promoting gender equality.
India’s Women Team wins the first-ever silver medal
Back home, it is new innings for the Indian Women’s team as well, as it is still riding high on the first-ever silver for team event. In October 2021, the women’s chess team led by Harika D clinched its first ever medal in the FIDE World Women’s Team Chess Championship.
With 2022 declared the Year of Women’s Chess, we could hope to see more brilliant performances from the Women’s team as well as the talented players.
Conclusion
FIDE in its press report reinstates its focus on creating a strong women chess community towards pursuing its goals for uplifting women’s participation in chess and all aspects concerning the sport. With the spotlight on women in chess, it could be the right time you train your daughters in the brain game and prove their mettle. This is the year women are going to prove yet again that the games of the intellect are not alien to them. Mind Mentorz wishes all women players and upcoming talents in the nation a fruitful and victorious year ahead!