Our Story
Queens United Chess
Queens United Chess was founded in Winter 2019 by Lizzy Brahin and Maggie Tsyganova, who were then two of the three female competitive chess players in the entire city of Chicago’s public high school system. Maggie is a freshman at Rice University and Lizzy is second-year at Harvard University.
The initiative started by teaching introductory chess lessons at a local elementary school, and has since expanded to reach over 500 youth across Chicago and the world under our Leadership and Ambassador Team. View our impact here.
Our Story
Week after week, we attended weekend-long tournaments to find only one or two other girls. That’s when we realized we needed to address the root of the problem: combatting biases and building community.
With 11 combined years of experience in competitive chess, Lizzy and Maggie strive to share their love of the game with younger students and empower girls in chess. Through our free co-ed introductory chess instruction, weekly Girl Power Club meetings, and Ambassador Team, we foster an inclusive environment for all students and are growing the chess community.