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chess for girls

2 replies

SPTW · 27/10/2025 16:51

She Plays To Win

She Plays To Win is a charitable project whose aim is to encourage more girls to learn, play and benefit from chess.
The charity is focused on the following age groups;

  • Primary School (Under 11)
  • Secondary School (Under 18)
  • University (Under 28)

Read our mission: https://www.sheplaystowin.co.uk/mission

Sign your daughter up to our programme: https://www.sheplaystowin.co.uk/chessforgirls-25-26

Why chess, and why for girls in particular?

Chess is an incredible thing- there’s a reason it’s been around for over 1500 years. But it’s more than just a game. Chess’ unique level playing field means it’s a game of pure strategy, and learning and playing the game gives people strategic skills and confidence that will last a lifetime and define the course of their lives. It’s no wonder that many who played chess at a young age went on to do amazing things, particularly in the worlds of science, technology, engineering and maths.

But there’s a problem. At a young age, not enough girls are learning and playing the game. It’s thought that as few as 1 in 10 young chess players are girls. And this matters, because it’s not just chess where there is a gender gap. Women account for only a quarter of the roles in the STEM workforce, industries that not only provide disproportionate security and prosperity, but are vital in helping to define what the world looks like. Getting more girls into chess cannot change this alone, but it can and will close the gap, and create more female leaders of tomorrow in these fields.

It’s time to give more girls the best possible opening move in life.

She Plays To Win
Charity Number: 1210171
https://www.sheplaystowin.co.uk/

SPTW Chess Programme 2025/26 | She Plays To Win — She Plays To Win

Register for our 2025/26 Chess Programme. One year of online training, tournaments, catch-up videos, and community for UK girls and young women in chess.

https://www.sheplaystowin.co.uk/chessforgirls-25-26

OP posts:
RareGoalsVerge · 27/10/2025 21:47

This is great and very welcome to support girls and young women in this way. Any field which is dominated by one demographic can feel unwelcoming to people of a different demographic and there is always a value to creating extra help for members of the minority demographic to help them to find their feet and thrive.

I'd be really interested @SPTW in your view of people who grew up and were socialised as boys, and therefore suffered none of the social pressures pushing them away from succeeding in chess, taking advantage of initiatives that are intended to help girls and young women having declared a trans identity. Is there a value to having opportunities and contests for women and girls which can be entered and won by male people?

SPTW · 29/10/2025 11:08

@RareGoalsVerge that is quite a big topic of discussion!
All I will say is, that given we are striving for equality in chess between boys and girls, and it is not a physical game but purely mental (to which we put the case that girls are at least equal with boys in this aspect) then we welcome those with trans identity and who identify as a female to join SPTW.
We cannot speak for other sports, mainly physical ones, where there are other discussions that can be had.
The bigger discussion to us is that girls don't choose things like chess and STEM because they think 'it's not for me, it's for boys'. That is a premise we want to challenge. Chess is a great vehicle for girls to gain this confidence which we believe has a huge knock on effect for encouraging girls into STEM later in life.

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