CHESS QUEENS: THE TRUE STORY OF A CHESS CHAMPION AND THE GREATEST FEMALE PLAYERS OF ALL TIME

The author knows what it takes to be a chess champion and the challenges of being a woman in a predominantly male world...it means that she writes as an insider with real authority and insight. Many of the people she writes about - she knows personally - and has managed to dig into their fascinating experiences and backstories. These women chess players have broken many glass ceilings, proved an inspiration and been catalysts for cultural change. I really enjoyed reading these stories. They are stories that need to be told and Jennifer Shahade tells them beautifully.

Half way through Queens of chess. Superb reading. Women's chess has really made its mark and its good to see many young and adult women competing. I am enjoying this book and I recommend it.

A great book about some incredible women and some of the struggles they've gone through establishing themselves in the game.

The introduction is a long diatribe about how poorly women are treated in chess paired with something something about trans people, even though to the best of my knowledge there are very few, if any, trans people competing in chess at any level. When she's done with that she finally goes on to describe some of the prominent women who have played high level chess, who amazingly have been treated very well by the top men of the day and mentored at every turn by legendary grandmasters. She talks about how the USSR was very concerned with having excellent female grandmasters and sponsored, encouraged and promoted them in every possible way, and in the same breath makes some allusion to a grand conspiracy to keep women in chess down because all the men and orgs secretly hate them.One particular passage mentions that roughly 15% of all chess players are female, and 3% of the world's top players were women at the time of writing, which is 'roughly equal' (by her math). At the time of THIS writing, 0% of the world's top 100 chess players are women.The book boils down to men bad, women wonderful, there is no difference between the sexes and any difference that you might notice in results is either purely coincidental or the fault of some man or the world in general. I wanted a book that tells the story of the greatest women chess players. I wanted to learn some chess history. Instead I got a nonsensical essay on social justice and woke-speak. Disappointing.

This book changed my entire understanding of chess history and culture.Plus, it’s wildly entertaining.The author, WGM Jennifer Shahade, takes you on a multi-decade journey of women in chess, from past to present.In each chapter, you get beautiful stories of great women ascending the chess world. Rich portraits of these women come to life with her colorful and detailed prose.You revel in their awesome chess talent. Yet your heart also aches as you learn about the frequent sexism they faced.Not only did I find each women’s story fascinating, but I also learned something critical:Chess media has given women WAY too little attention.I had no idea until reading this book that there were so many great female chess players (and I've studied chess a LOT!) All that are profiled have had an inspiring and key role in its history.It made me realize how many more books and media we need like Chess Queens.Women deserve more attention. They’ve had a beautiful and powerful part of chess history - even as they’ve battled sexism that men have never had to face.With Chess Queens, Jennifer Shahade gives these female champions the spotlight they finally deserve. I hope other leaders in the chess world follow her example. The game is only great when it's inclusive.