Real-Life Queen’s Gambit: 10 Amazing Female Chess Players

It’s no secret that the hit miniseries The Queen’s Gambit was responsible for a huge spike in chess interest. The show rapidly gained popularity to become one of Netflix’s most-watched programs just weeks after its release, (re)igniting interest in chess and spurring sales of chess boards. We’ve all been mesmerized by orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon as she grapples with the emotional aftermath of her traumas while on the rise to becoming the greatest chess player in the world. The Queen’s Gambit itself is a fictional tale, but there are many women throughout history who could be seen as inspirations for the young heroine. We’ve already covered Great Chess Players Throughout History, but here are 10 of the most influential female chess players that you should know if you were as fascinated by Beth Harmon as the rest of us.

1. Who was Macalda di Scaletta?

Born way way way back in 1240, Italian baroness Macalda di Scaletta is the first recorded chess player we know about — regardless of gender — and lived a full and interesting life that ended up inspiring works of literature and music over the next 700 years. As part of a family that worked their way up from poverty to high society, Macalda navigated social politics and weaponized her sexuality to marry her way into nobility, but did so on her own terms and wasn’t afraid of upsetting the establishment. She was so opening defiant and dismissive of Queen Constance of Sicily that she downplayed her royalty and referred to the queen as simply “mother of James.” This contributed to her political reputation taking a serious hit, and she eventually fell so far out of favor that she was imprisoned at the Matagriffon castle in Sicily built by Richard the 1st. It was here that she passed the time playing chess with fellow prisoners, and while there’s no way of knowing her won/loss record and it’s impossible to ascertain how well she would’ve done against Garry Kasparov or Boris Spassky, it is nonetheless empowering that such a headstrong, uncompromising woman was the first recorded player of chess.

 

2. Who was Vera Menchik?

Vera Menchik was the very first Women’s World Chess Champion (WWCC). Born in Moscow in 1906, Menchik began playing chess at the ripe young age of 9 and was good enough to place second in a local tournament when she was 15. Her parents split up during the Russian Revolution and she moved to Hastings, England with her mother and sister Olga, where she joined the Hastings Chess Club in 1923. Under the tutelage of grandmaster Géza Maróczy, her skill level catapulted, and she played British ladies’ champion Edith Price to a draw by the end of the year. After winning the first WWCC in 1927, she so successfully dominated her competition for the next 17 years that the Women’s Chess Olympiad is now known as the Vera Menchik Cup. In June 1944, Vera, her mother, and her sister Olga (who was also a pretty good chess player), were tragically killed during one of the German air raids on London. She was still the champion when she died.

 

Key Match: Menchik vs. George Alan Thomas (1932)

 

3. Who was Lyudmila Rudenko?

During the winter of 1949-50, the World Chess Federation (also known as FIDE), held a tournament consisting of 16 women from 12 different countries to decide the new Women’s World Chess Champion after Menchik’s untimely passing. The winner was Lyudmila Rudenko, a chess player who had a pretty full trophy cabinet of accolades. Not only was she the champion after Menchik, she was the first woman to be awarded International Master in 1950. She was also the USSR women’s champion in 1952, awarded Woman Grandmaster in 1976, won the Leningrad women’s championship thrice, and was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2015. But for all her success, she says her most important accomplishment was organizing a train to get children away from the Siege of Leningrad during World War II.

Key Match: Rudenko vs. Rowena May Bruce (1946)

 

4. Who was Nona Gaprindashvili?

Born in the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1941, Nona Gaprindashvili was the 5th Women’s World Chess Champion, a title she held from 1962 to 1978. She was also a five-time winner of the Women’s Soviet Championship, and the very first woman to be awarded Grandmaster status by FIDE. In fact, she was so good that she was granted the title despite scoring grandmaster norms in 23 games instead of the customary 24 games. Gaprindashvili has been a big name in the chess world ever since winning the 4th Women’s Candidates Tournament as a 20-year-old in 1961, and a characterization of her even appears in The Queen’s Gambit. 

Key Match: Gaprindashvili vs Juraj Nikolac (1979)

 

5 – 7. Who are the Polgár Sisters? Susan, Judit, & Sofia

Here are three entries for the price of one. Educational psychologist and chess teacher László Polgár believed that geniuses were made (not born), and that children were capable of exceptional accomplishments if they start early enough with the right guidance. His three daughters — Susan, Judit, and Sofia — were the subjects of this experiment and Polgár raised them to be chess prodigies. Susan won her first chess tournament in Budapest when she was 4 years old and by the time she was 15, she was the top-ranked female chess player in the world and was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1991.

Later that year, her sister Judit — who was so gifted at chess that she supposedly beat a family friend at a game without even looking at the board when she was 5 — was also granted Grandmaster status. She set the record for being the youngest Grandmaster by a month, which was previously held by none other than the legendary Bobby Fischer. Judit almost never played in women-specific chess tournaments, stating that women should have the confidence to play amongst the men.

Though not quite as accomplished as her sisters, Sofia is an International Master and Woman Grandmaster with her own share of successes. When she was 14, she shocked the chess world by beating eight Grandmasters at a tournament in Italy, an event that became to be known as the “Sack of Rome.” But unfortunately for the chess world, the Polgár sisters are no longer competitive. Sofia hasn’t played any FIDE-rated games since 2000 and Judit — perhaps the strongest female player in history — has been inactive since 2015. Susan is also inactive, but sponsors and mentors young players as the head of the Susan Polgár Institute for Chess Excellence at Webster University.

Key Match: Judit Polgár vs. Viswanathan Anand (2005)

 

8. Who was Lisa Lane?

Unlike many of the women listed here, Lisa Lane did not discover a love and aptitude for chess until her late teens — thought she certainly learned quickly. In 1959 at age 21, she won the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship just a couple years after she started playing. Also, unlike many of the women on this list, she did not go on to achieve the title of Grandmaster, but she’s notable here for her impact on the game by being arguably the most influential female American player and bringing attention to women’s chess. In 1961, she was the first chess player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, more than a decade before Bobby Fischer did the same, and she also opened her own chess club in New York City called The Queen’s Pawn Chess Emporium in 1963. Unfortunately, she grew frustrated by the chess scene’s gender politics and how her identity revolved around the game. She eventually faded into obscurity — but not without leaving her mark. There aren’t a lot of records of her games, so here she is on a 1960 episode of the old “To Tell The Truth” game show.

 

9. Who was Maia Chiburdanidze?

Like Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze was born in the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and for awhile, she was youngest Women’s World Chess Champion, a record she held until 2010. She started playing chess as a child and became the USSR Girl’s Champion when she was a teenager in 1976. In 1977, FIDE awarded her the title of Woman Grandmaster and in 1978, she beat fellow countrywoman Gaprindashvili for the WWCC. She held the title until 1991 and in the middle of her title reign, she became a Grandmaster in 1984. She is was the second woman to be awarded the title after — you guessed it — Gaprindashvili. Chiburdanidze is revered in her part of the world, and has even appeared on postage stamps commemorating her accomplishments.

Key Match: Chiburdanidze vs. Semen Dvoirys (1980)

 

10. Who is Hou Yifan?

Born in China in 1994, Hou Yifan is perhaps the best female chess player active today. showed an immense aptitude and passion for chess as a 5-year-old. When she was only 12 years old, she became the youngest player to compete in the WWCC, breaking Maia Chiburdanidze’s record. When she was 14 years old, she bet Judit Polgár’s record of becoming the youngest Grandmaster ever. She’s just the third woman to be in the ranked among the top 100 players in the world, after Chiburdanidze and Judit Polgár. Breaking records left and right, she is considered to be far and away the best active female playing today — and she’s only in her mid-twenties. Time will tell where she’ll rank among the greatest chess players that ever lived but in the meantime, she splits her focus between the game and her job as professor at the School of Physical Education at Shenzhen University.

Key Match: Yifan vs. Francisco Vallejo Pons (2009)

Final Thoughts on the Great Women Chess Players

Of course, this is only a short list of the exceptional women who have left their marks in the world of chess. With The Queen’s Gambit bringing a lot of mainstream attention and excitement to an otherwise niche market, it’s exciting to bring more awareness and recognition to the brilliant and intelligent women who have been such an integral part of chess culture. The hit Netflix show has obviously brought the chess to the forefront of people’s minds and the game has seen a clear spike in popularity. However temporary this spike may be in terms of chess set sales (and don’t forget to check out our guide on Buying a New Chess Set), The Queen’s Gambit is sure to leave an indelible impression on young women who may very well find themselves on future versions of this list.

 Image Credit: Image by Victoria from Pixabay

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