Two young sisters from Singapore have come to the UK as Women FIDE Masters, a prestigious chess title for top female players. What is it like to be a young female player in the male-dominated world of chess?
Emma sat at the table, her eyes scanning the chessboard in front of her, tough the pieces remained untouched. As she settled into her seat at a casual league match, she eyed her competitor an older man opposite her.
Before the game, she extended her hand and he hesitated to take hers and shake. For Emma this was just another example of the kind of reaction she often got as a young woman in the game of chess.
“When I played in a league match, I remember when walking up to the first board and offering my hand for the customary handshake, and he didn’t shake my hand immediately,” says Emma, who was going to play at the first ranked table known as ‘Board One’. “With a surprised look on his face, he asked me if I was playing on board one, which I think shows that he was quite in disbelief that a woman player can be on board one.”
The reaction that Emma got will be of no surprise to any woman who has ever taken part in a competitive chess game. According to FIDE (The International Chess Federation) Rating List released in 2023, there are 1772 male Grandmasters around the world but just 41 females.
Emma and her sister Eunice from Singapore have always supported each other on their journey in chess since childhood. The sisters are a familiar sight at competitions, constantly supporting and challenging each other, both during matches and in their free time.
Emma is 23 years old and Eunice is 21, and both of them are university students in the UK. Emma started playing chess at the age of six, and Eunice began at seven. When they were young, their older brother introduced them to chess, and since then, they have participated in several competitions around the world. Even now, they continue to compete in the UK.
The pair are no strangers to having odd interactions with male players, with one player who wanted to offer a draw before it had even begun. “I don’t know what he’s doing,” says Emma. “But he offered me a draw on the first move. I thought that maybe he was trying to do a psychological trick on me.”
This is not unusual for all young female players. The disparity in the number of male and female in tournaments could also create a psychological battle for women.
“Sometimes it feels very isolating, because sometimes my sister doesn’t play, so I go on my own. And then I just feel very out of place. And I think that they kind of look down on me. For example, they think ‘I’m playing with this girl, she’s not strong. I’m just going to play anything against her, all the bad moves to insult her because I don’t need to use so much energy to beat her’,” says Eunice. “So that can be quite isolating and discouraging. But I just keep learning to overcome that.”
Because the players themselves are women, they often face a lot of implicit gender bias. At Cardiff Chess Club, there is a female player from the Czech Republic, Anezka Vlkova, who was second in a championship of the Czech Republic. She also shared her observations as a female player in chess community.
“One of my friends, she was really good chess player. When she was a child, every time when she played against someone older and a boy, like everyone would be making fun of him because you lost against a girl,” says Anezka. “But just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean that she’s a weak player, so you can hear lots of comments sometimes, but that happens usually in a childhood, not anymore.”
Reflecting on the stereotypes and biases faced by female chess players, Eunice shared thoughts on the common misconceptions about women in chess. The outdated views often undermine the capabilities of women in the game.
“I think there are some common misconceptions. Women are very weak and that they are very defensive, because some people say that back in the old times, the males will always be the one to go out and find food, while we just stay at home to take care of the children. That’s why men are more aggressive in their nature. That’s why they can play chess better,” says Eunice. “I think that’s quite an old way of thinking, because now I think more and more girls are learning to be aggressive, and they do defend when you attack them. So that’s a good thing.”
Even so, it is their love for the game of chess that has kept these female players persevering on this path. Despite the challenges they face, their passion drives them to continue.
“Because chess is a very individualistic game. I have played in other team sports like netball, but I always prefer to rely on myself, because I feel that when I put in the effort and others don’t and we don’t win, it’s very upsetting,” says Eunice. “So I prefer to play chess, because it depends on yourself and how you play.”
“I enjoy the intense rigor of challenging myself mentally and not just the moves itself, but psychological wise also just trying to overcome like my own limitations, and focus on enjoying the game, enjoying attacking, finding counter attacks or tactics,” says Emma.
Although being a woman in the world of chess presents entirely different challenges compared to men, the struggles they face have also enriched their life experiences. Chess, as their chosen passion, has added a unique and valuable dimension to their lives.
Emma and Eunice both stated that playing against high-level chess players is an important part of their experience. After getting in touch with chess, they quickly showed a natural talent for the game. In a primary school competition, Emma’s decent score overall earned her a spot to qualify for the national junior squad Singapore. From there, she received formal training at the national level, practicing alongside the country’s top players.
“I think my most memorable chess tournament would be the world chess Olympiads. Me and my sister played in 2018 and 2022 World Chess Olympiads,” says Eunice. “It was very memorable for me, because so many people from all over the world were participating, and I got to see the very strong chess players in front of my eyes. That was very cool.”
“And I also enjoyed playing with all the strong players from other countries, because each country will send the top four or five strongest players, and it was a privilege to be able to compete with them and test myself against them,” Eunice adds.
While competing against top players, chess tournaments also provide players with the opportunity to travel the world. “It was interesting because I never thought I would go to a place like India, especially not to New Delhi, the capital city. Chess gives me a chance to be India and see so many people,” says Anezka.
While female chess players greatly enjoy the opportunity to compete against masters from around the world, the difficulties they face as girls learning chess from a young age are an integral part of their journey. These challenges and their passion for the game have complemented each other, ultimately shaping their achievements today.
After experiencing the unfair treatment in that match, Emma realized that her battles might extend beyond the chessboard to include deeply ingrained gender biases. Confronted with the underestimation from male players, she chose to swallow her discomfort and pretend it didn’t happen.
“Honestly, I don’t really do anything about it. I don’t have anyone to speak to in those situations, so I feel it’s pointless to pursue it. It’s a small thing, but it makes you feel uncomfortable,” Emma says.
Emma’s experience reflects a broader issue that many female chess players encounter in varying degrees. Others, like Eunice, perceive more subtle reactions from their opponents.
“I don’t think I’ve been encountered very serious incidents, but sometimes I can tell the men are very unhappy to lose to me, they will not set up the pieces and they just leave very angrily, just because I’m a female player,” Eunice says. “I try not to think too much about it. But I just accept that there’s just going to be people with this kind of mindset, and sometimes it feels good as well when you meet them, and they get so upset. But I always use it as extra motivation to train harder and just keep showing them that we are capable.”
While external challenges like gender biases could be tricky to navigate, the internal struggles that arise from the pressures of competition are just as significant. For Eunice, one such moment of doubt occurred after a particularly tough tournament, where she lost to two younger, lower-rated players. This experience led her to question whether she should continue pursuing chess.
“I want to be going forward, but every time I lose to someone lower than me, it’s very disappointing because I feel like I need to achieve my goals faster,” says Eunice. “But looking back on it now, I think there’s no need to pressure myself that much, and sometimes all these failures just happen, but it’s how you bounce back from it that matters.”
On June 29th, Emma and Eunice were both invited to attend the London Women Chess Club Launch Event at the Abbey Centre in London. The event brought together many female chess players, with the aim of empowering women through the game of chess. They also share how they continued playing chess after coming to study in the UK.
Despite occasionally feeling isolated during tournaments, such as in the Central London League where, apart from two of them, there were no other female players, they still dedicate time and effort to chess.
They had been playing chess and going to school for nearly their entire lives. Eunice thinks that it primarily comes down to time management, as they sacrifice a lot of things. They don’t go out with friends very often and they don’t have time for TV dramas.
“Sometimes in school, I’ll have training session with my coach and then do my work, so I sleep very late because of that. I think so far it has been manageable. I’m not sure how I’ll manage next year when the workload increases, but I think it should be doable, especially in London, where people are quite open minded to students having a life outside academics,” says Eunice.
For Emma, she plays chess once a week at her school chess club and participates in casual chess clubs across London. For example, there is one at St John’s Church where people gather every Friday evening to play. She will play in a series of consecutive tournaments and will try to play whenever she can during the holidays, when academic pressures are relatively lighter. “I try to play chess every day, so I can accumulate the mileage, and keep my thought process going,” Emma says.
As sisters who are aware of being among the few female chess players in the chess community, Eunice mentioned that she thinks London is already doing quite a good job in promoting female interest in chess. She highlighted examples such as the London Women Chess Club and another club called She Plays To Win, which supports many upcoming female juniors.
“There are more girls who are daring to play in the open section against the boys, and I also think that in general, in the chess community, people are starting to be more open-minded to female players,” Eunice says.
However, Eunice also admits that there are still those who refuse to respect female players. In some Grand Prix tournaments for top female players, the organization was very poorly handled, with players unable to check in at hotels and not receiving breakfast—experiences that seemed to be unique to female players, as such issues did not appear to occur with male players.
“I do feel that overall, the community here is very welcoming. Recently we went to the launch in London, and I think the community is trying very hard to encourage more participation,” Emma says.
Although Emma recognizes that the community in the UK is welcoming to women—for instance, it is compulsory to have at least one female player on each team in the 4 Nations Chess League, the most prestigious league in the UK, and there are subsidies for the entry fee at half price—female participation rate remains very low. People have become aware of this issue and are gradually paying more attention to it.
Emma believes that financial incentives for women are not as good as those for men. “Many say that females are good at chess, but there’s not much future anyway, because women’s chess is not really supported. There’s not much money in women’s chess.” she says. Due to a lack of funding, it is difficult for female players to pursue a career as professional chess player.
They provided women with a safer and more inclusive space to discuss chess and improve overall.
Emma
Recently, Emma received an email from a chess club in the UK asking for her thoughts on how women’s participation could be improved in the league. This made her feel that they are indeed concerned about the low number of women participating in the sport and that they are trying to encourage more women players to get involved.
“If you’re the only female in the room, it could make you feel uncomfortable,” Emma says.
Looking back on her primary school days, Emma noted that she attended an all-girls school. She felt comfortable in that environment, and she realized that during her upbringing, she wasn’t very at ease around boys. “They tended to be more goofy,” she says. Based on her experiences, she felt that boys often came across as quite arrogant, perhaps assuming that all female players were easy to beat.
“It wouldn’t have been as conducive of an environment if I was in a mixed school, and maybe I wouldn’t be here today,” says Emma. “Just set the environment that’s full of women and help them, maybe it can encourage them,”
“If we had the same conditions that men have, I think women’s chess will go very far. More women are also striving towards the Grandmaster title. If they were given the sufficient resources to support themselves in their journey, then we would be able to see more women becoming Grandmasters. That could show that it’s perhaps there’s not much of a difference in the potential between men and women.” Emma says.
“We need a change in mindset and attitude, especially in older men who have stereotypes against female chess players,” Eunice says.
“I also hope to improve my mindset when I encounter my setbacks, staying more positive and making the most of my opportunities,” says Eunice.
Chess indeed benefits their life. “Chess has made me more independent. Your opponent does something and your life on the board very difficult and you are the only one who can find a way out of it,” says Eunice. “So when I encounter stressful situations, problems that look very difficult to solve, my thinking in chess has helped me do get around those problems and see things from a bigger picture.” She also shares a quote from a Russian chess grandmaster:
Chess is life, and there are a lot of transferable skills from chess that you can apply to everyday life.
Garry Kasparov
As experienced female chess players who have been dedicated to the game for many years, the sisters encourage young girls who are interested in chess to keep playing and not to give up.
“Not to care so much about those negative sentiments you might get from men in chess. Just focus on doing your own thing. It doesn’t matter what they think of you, because at the end of the day, everything comes down to what happens on the board. If they think you’re bad, but you’re actually good, then who cares what they think? So just keep doing your own thing, and things will only get better from there,” Eunice says.
“Have the courage to do so and be brave, you can do anything that you put your mind to. You should believe in yourself, not in the stereotypes or prejudice that men try to reinforce in their actions. Just go for it, believe in yourself, and have fun,” Emma says.
