Chess club takes aim at female skills gap
There are few tournaments where women and men compete without note of gender. For instance, in softball and bowling, there typically are separate leagues for men and women.
But in the world of competitive chess, men, women, boys and girls compete head-to-head without any gender distinction.
Yet Rebecca Rutledge, executive director of Youth Chess League of Central Oklahoma Inc., has organized a females-only chess club. She said she has her reasons.
“In the early grades, little children enjoy chess equally, but there’s tremendous social pressure against girls playing chess. By the sixth grade, the proportionate number of girls to boys has dropped off dramatically,” Rutledge said.
“Girls excel at chess at the same levels as boys, just not in the same number. A skills gap develops between the genders, and that just promotes females’ hesitancy to get involved.”
A ladies-only chess club is designed to create a comfortable way for women and girls to re-engage or engage for the first time in chess and to foster each others’ skill.
“Most people think chess is for brainy people only, but that’s not true. Playing chess benefits all participants’ cognitive, academic and social function,” Rutledge said.
Simple strategies
Rutledge was a young child when her father taught her how the pieces moved.
“But later, when I learned a few simple strategies to win at chess, I really started to enjoy it.”
She taught her son to play when he was a preschooler, and by the second grade, he began to beat her. Now that he wins tournaments and competes regularly, she doubts she’ll ever beat him again.
Charlotte Conroe, 8, got interested in chess through a school program. Her mother, Justine Conroe, says Charlotte likes the thoughtfulness and purposefulness of the game.
“You really have to plan your own actions and anticipate what other people might do. You have to sit and be still and really think about your actions. Charlotte’s good at that,” Justine Conroe said.
Rutledge added, “Chess strategies are like mathematical puzzles. The strategies are applied to various situations just like the rules of math equations. It’s wonderful exercise for your brain,
regardless of your skill level.”
Various approaches
Rutledge has been active in bringing chess to after-school programs through Oklahoma City’s Parks and Recreation Department. Three metro-area elementary schools already have it in their after-school programs nearby.
“It costs almost nothing and breaks down barriers between genders, ages and ethnicities,” Rutledge said.
Studies of chess-playing children suggest they develop confidence and sportsmanship as well as the ability to plan ahead to achieve desired consequences.
The ladies-only chess club is not geared to any particular skill level. Rutledge urges anyone with an interest to come.
“If you don’t know how to play, someone will be glad to teach you the game. You can always find a mentor,” she said.
If you go
The new females-only chess club will meet from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month at The District House, 1755 NW 16.
For more information, go to YouthchessOK.org.
The new females-only chess club will meet from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month at The District House, 1755 NW 16.