Bridging the Gender Divide in Chess and Empowering Female High School Chess Leaders
The Chicago Public Schools, Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation, in collaboration with Queens United Chess, developed the CPS Chess Queens Initiative. CPS Chess Queens is a year-round program intended to empower female chess leaders, foster an inclusive and engaging environment for girls, and expand the chess community. We will accomplish this by increasing engagement opportunities to females from diverse communities throughout the city and employing female high school students to serve as mentors and role models through chess centered programs.
Queens United was founded in Winter 2019 by Chicago Public High School (CPS) students, Lizzy Brahin and Maggie Tsyganova, and they brought forward the idea to develop this initiative within the existing CPS Academic Chess Program.
High School Ambassadors
Join our team of female high school Ambassadors to lead introductory chess lessons and/or weekly Queens United Girl Power Chess Club and meet other like-minded girls from across Chicago, the state, and the country! You will develop leadership skills, serve as a role model to younger girls, have the opportunity to serve on the Leadership Council, serve as a summer camp leader, or assist at tournaments. High school Ambassadors will receive a stipend for the work they do.
Leadership Council
A team of high school girls will serve on a leadership council to assist us with promoting gender-inclusion in chess. They will help coordinate the annual CPS All-Girls Championship tournament, a weeklong summer camp for girls, and workshops, in addition to creating proposals for integrating gender-inclusivity into the CPS chess programs.
Queens United Girl Power Chess Club
Girls who participate in this initiative have the opportunity to participate in the Queens United Girls Power Chess Club. This weekly virtual Girl Power Chess Club allows students to meet other girls from across Chicago, the state, and the country! Queens United Ambassadors will host chess tournaments and fun games to create a supportive community of girls in chess. No chess experience necessary!
CPS All-Girls Championship
The end of the school year event brings the female chess players in CPS together to play in a fun and exciting tournament. Our high school ambassadors serve as assistant Tournament Directors during the event.
Chess Queens Summer Camp
As part of our Summer Chess Experience, the one-week girls only camp provides an opportunity for the girls to come together over the summer, play and learn chess, as well participate in specialized presentations and field trips. Our high school ambassadors serve as assistant camp leaders during the camp.
To find out more about the program, please contact
June Spear – Chess Queens Coordinator
jspears10@cps.edu
Arlecia Taylor – CPS Chess Coordinator
ajtaylor@cps.edu / 773-553-3593
David Heiser – Chess Consultant
daheiser@cps.edu / 773-844-0701