The International Chess Federation has declared 2022 the Year of the Woman in Chess.
“We announced 2022 – the Year of the Woman in Chess. It doesn’t mean that we will only pay attention to this very important trend for one year. We started doing big things already quite some time ago. We increased prizes in women’s tournaments, included more women in chess management. It is crucial for us to continue this trend in a long-term perspective on a sustainable basis.” – FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said.
FIDE believes that, the Year of the Woman is a chance to take a leap forward in the mission of forming gender equity policies, practices and programs in chess.
The objectives of the initiative are:
– forming gender equity policies, practices and programs,
– promoting women’s participation in chess and chess related organizations,
– providing support to initiatives that enhance women’s role in chess and enhance the environment to make chess more attractive to women,
– acting as federator of women’s initiatives in chess on all continents.
Throughout 2022, FIDE will organise tournaments and other activities as part of the Year of the Woman in Chess. Milestones that will mark the year-long celebrations include the “Queens’ Pavilion” during the Chess Olympiad 2022 in Moscow, the “Queens Festival” which was first organized in 2021 and attaracted over 460 female players from 82 countries, and a yearly award for women in various categories.
These and other activities are aimed to support education of girls and women and their chess carriers as players, trainers, arbiters, organizers and officials, encourage continental organizations and national federations to create dedicated commissions (equivalent to FIDE’s WOM Commission) or designate a person to work specifically on gender equity programs and to allocate appropriate budget for this purpose, create a network of women around the world who are actively involved in their local chess community and organize chess event for women.
