June Wonder of the Month: Lizzy Brahin

Recap of our fourth podcast episode! 

Listen to the official Queens United Chess podcast episodes on Spotify and YouTube.

Episode 4: Featuring Lizzy Brahin: The Co-Founder of Queens United Chess

Lizzy

Meet the co-founder of Queens United Chess- Lizzy Brahin! Lizzy is a rising junior at Harvard University where she is currently studying Applied Math and Economics. She is a force of knowledge who aims to foster community in all settings, and her impact has only grown since she’s entered college.

Personal Journey/Introduction to Chess

Lizzy Brahin's fascination with chess began at a young age when she was in preschool. Her brother was in a summer camp where a chess event took place and ever since she participated, she has grown a great passion for chess. At first glance, she mostly played friendly games against her family relatives until she had coaching and started playing competitively in the 6th grade. During elementary school, it was difficult to play chess due to the fact that her school didn't have a chess club or programs. Fortunately with the help of her beloved mother, she worked with CPS to grant the school a chess team. Outside of school her mother had also given her opportunities to compete and chess tournaments and summer programs.

Queens United Chess

Lizzy co-founded Queens United Chess with Maggie Tsyganova (who we interviewed in our first episode! Be sure to check out our interview with Maggie!) in the winter of 2019 with the goal of bridging the gender divide in chess and making chess lessons more accessible to all students! Lessons from Queens United were hosted in-person near her school,Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, until the pandemic hit. Since school was canceled for a bit, Lizzy was able to change the lesson programs at Queens United to be virtual to continue the mission of Queens United! Students signed up for lessons and many high/middle school students became ambassadors of the organization, leading to its rapid growth. Queens United has had an amazing impact on the chess community so far, thanks to its founders!

Current Projects

In her first year at Harvard, Lizzy started by helping out at the Harvard shop and continued to manage the online aspects of the shop during the year and full-time in the summer. After that, she focused on researching at the Harvard Business School and she continues to do that today. She also is still very passionate about fostering community for girls and is involved in several different clubs such as Women in Business, where they have taken several trips as a group, as well as Smart Women Securities, the undergraduate finance club for women. She also works with the Chicago chapter of Students of Harvard, to help highschoolers connect with undergraduate students. 

Conclusion/Advice

To all the young female chess players looking for a more inclusive environment, Lizzy advises to keep playing. Find your community, and be resilient. 

Lizzy has created such a welcoming platform for females and youth. We thank her for her lasting contributions to the Chicago Chess Community, and her dedication to creating an inclusive environment for females in chess and business!

Want to learn more about Lizzy Brahin? Tune in to 

the full interview on our Spotify and YouTube!