“This is the closest the ratio of men’s to women’s teams has ever been in the history of the Chess Olympiads,” says Dr. Zoltán Polyánszky, President of the Hungarian Chess Federation.
“This progress is inspiring for women’s chess, but it also draws on deep traditions. In the 1970s and 80s, the renowned teams featuring Mária Ivánka and Zsuzsa Verőci earned four silver and two bronze medals in the FIDE Chess Olympiads, followed by the Polgár sisters and Ildikó Mádl winning two golds. Later, Zsuzsa Polgár became the Women’s World Champion, and Judit achieved groundbreaking results in men’s chess, setting an example for future generations. At this year’s Olympiad, I’m proud to highlight that of the 10 competitors on our women’s A and B teams, five are competing as mothers.
Balancing these two roles requires extraordinary effort and exceptional organizational skills, and we are proud of them and especially grateful for their dedication.”
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Press release by FIDE
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has initiated programs to ensure women have equal opportunities to participate in chess. The FIDE Women’s Commission launched a special project, the National Female Team Imitative, to enable more countries to send women’s teams to the Chess Olympiad. Each of these teams represents a significant step toward gender equality in chess.
Over the past year, the program has supported the preparation of women’s teams from nine countries: Liechtenstein, Guernsey, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, the US Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, Nauru, and the Cayman Islands. The debuting teams received financial support, expert coaching, and substantial mental and material support for their training sessions in July and August.
“Taking our first-ever female team to the Olympiad is a milestone that highlights the progress we’ve made in increasing the number of women playing chess in St. Lucia. This achievement will undoubtedly inspire more females to take up the game. Our team members were selected from our Schools Chess Championships and the Queens Gambit Challenge Initiative. I’m proud to say that the majority of our preparation was supported by the training provided through the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess National Female Team Initiative,” said TrisAnn Richards, President of the Saint Lucia Chess Federation.
Additionally, the FIDE Women’s Chess Commission introduced a pilot project called ChessMom earlier this year. This initiative provides support to female players with children under one year of age. In the past, many women were unable to participate in the Olympiad due to the challenges of being away from their children or finding childcare during competitions. The Commission addressed this by recognizing each child and caregiver as official members of their national delegation, ensuring they receive lodging, meals, and all the other benefits provided to delegation members.
Participants in this project include Alina Kashlinskaya (Poland), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia), Yuliia Osmak (Ukraine), Aster Melake Bantiwalu (Ethiopia), Rauha Shipindo (Namibia), and Nolwazi Nkwanyane (Eswatini). FIDE aims to establish this support system for chess-playing mothers as a standard feature, expanding the pilot project into a full program for future competitions.
Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board, emphasized FIDE’s commitment to promoting women’s chess: “FIDE is deeply committed to empowering women in chess by creating opportunities and providing the necessary support to help them excel. Whether through initiatives like the ChessMom program or supporting the participation of new teams at the Olympiad, our goal is to ensure that women in chess have the same opportunities to succeed as their male counterparts.”
Adding to the celebration of women in chess, Chilean singer and performance artist Juga will launch a unique art project in Budapest. Known for her chess-inspired work, Juga is filming a new video in Budapest to honor women in chess worldwide. The short film will showcase the top female chess players from 160 countries, as well as women who contribute to chess as teachers, streamers, photographers, referees, and officials. Filming will take place on September 17, a rest day for the Olympiad, at the iconic Hungarian Fine Arts Museum in Budapest.
The video will feature her song ‘Queen Trap’ and Juga has promised that she will represent female chess players in a way that has never been done before. Juga is hoping to work with all of the Olympiad’s female competitors where a number of international stars have already signalled their participation, including Judit Polgár, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Elizabeth Paehtz, Bibisara Assaubayeva, and Tania Sachdev.
As part of this year’s Chess Olympiad, the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess hosts “Women&Chess&Balance” conference on 21 September 2024. More information can be found here: https://wom.fide.com/womconference/.
“I am extremely excited that FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess implemented so many incredible projects. FIDE will continue thriving in this meaningful direction! Taking the opportunity I would like to invite you all to the Conference to attend the conference,” said Anastasia Sorokina, Chair of the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess.
