Press release by the Prague Chess Festival
The rest day of the main tournaments at the Prague International Chess Festival was dedicated to supporting women's chess. At the Grand Hotel Prague Towers, VIP guests and friends of the Festival gathered to continue last year's tradition – celebrate young chess talents from around the world.
It is the second year of the Futures category, which features an exclusively female lineup. This year's patron is the tournament ambassador and former world #1, Pia Cramling. The legendary Swedish GM first delivered an expert lecture for the Futures participants at the Don Giovanni Hotel and then headed close to the walls of Vyšehrad, where she played an attractive simultaneous exhibition against the Prague Futures players. The only participant who managed to defeat her was Germany's Lilian Schirmbeck, who said:
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Overview
Free video sample: Chigorin: 9...Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7/cxd4
I was really happy to play against her because I am a big fan of Pia Cramling.
The simultaneous exhibition | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
The Chess Women's Day was also attended by Czech actress and five-time Czech Film and Television Academy Award winner Aňa Geislerová. Indian champion and Challengers participant Divya Deshmukh introduced her to the secrets of the royal game. The two queens of their respective fields spent long minutes discussing over the chessboard, with Geislerová learning the basic principles of the game and the symbolism of each piece.
"Divya was magical because she thought she could genuinely teach me something. She's incredibly communicative and kind", said Aňa Geislerová, who also expressed her admiration for the players competing in the Futures. "I'm here to support this. When you give something a face, you give it weight - and this is exactly the kind of thing that deserves it". According to Geislerová, however, the position of women in society remains unstable. She pointed out:
Women are reaching places they have never been before in history. On the other hand, that history is also coming back to us in certain ways. The fight for women's rights and equality concerns women in all fields.
Geislerová added that sport is still an area with significant room for improvement.
In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.
Divya Deshmukh sharing insights with the guests of honour in Prague | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
The programme for young women in chess is also strongly supported by the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess. Its Chair, Anastasia Sorokina, repeatedly emphasises the need to achieve a more balanced ratio of men and women in the future of competitive chess:
I am very grateful to the organisers of big tournaments like Prague International Chess Festival, Norway Chess or Tata Steel for giving the extra opportunity for the girls, for the future stars. But of course it's never enough. We're always trying to improve. In the ideal world, there is a same number of man and women playing chess. Then, of course, a woman can be a world champion one day. Now we have only 10 percent of women among chess players. So it's difficult for girls to prove how strong they are.
The side-event programme also included an autograph session with Pia Cramling, simultaneous exhibitions by Czech national team players Anna Lhotská and Tereza Rodshtein, as well as an inspirational seminar led by Tata Steel Chess director and Women in Chess Foundation founder Jeroen van den Berg. The evening was dedicated to a screening of the award-winning documentary Sofonisba's Chess Game.
The Leningrad Dutch Defence is a dynamic and aggressive opening choice for Black, perfect for players who want to add some adventure and spice to their repertoire.
Pia Cramling happily shared time with fans | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival
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