Chess was a men’s club for a long time. Not by rule — by atmosphere, by who showed up, by who got encouraged to keep showing up. That’s changing. It should change faster.
When I picture the people I want walking through our doors in Carmel Valley, a lot of them are women. Moms who played in college and drifted away from it. Friends looking for something to do on a weeknight that isn’t another show on the couch. Women who’ve never touched a board and quietly assume it’s too late, or too serious, or not really “for them.” I want every one of them at the board. So let me make the case — for the casual player and the competitor both.
You don’t have to be “good.” You just have to play.
Most people think chess is about memorizing openings and grinding three-hour games against a ticking clock. It can be that. But that’s not where it starts, and it’s not where most players actually live.
Chess is a social game. It’s two people, a board, and a couple of hours where the only thing you owe each other is your full attention. No phones. No scrolling. Just you, a friend, and a problem to solve together — even while you’re trying to beat each other.
I coach the same way I’d want to be taught: I don’t drill you on memorization. I teach you to see the board — to recognize patterns, ask better questions, and get comfortable losing, because losing is how you get good without it ever feeling like work. A casual player who sits down once a week with a friend will surprise herself inside a month. You don’t need a rating. You don’t need to study. You just need to pull up a chair.
For the competitive player, the ceiling is whatever you decide it is.
For anyone who hears “competitive” and leans in: the women who’ve played at the top of this game are some of the most fearless players in its history.
The first Women’s World Champion was crowned back in 1927, and the title’s been contested ever since. But the name I always come back to is Judit Polgár. She didn’t just dominate the women’s lists — she beat reigning world champions across the board and climbed to number eight in the world. Not eighth among women. Eighth among everyone. She proved, permanently, that there’s no ceiling on the women’s side of this game except the ones people invent.
The honest part.
Women are still a small minority at the competitive table — only about 1 in 8 tournament players in the U.S. are women, and worldwide it’s closer to 1 in 10. That gap has been studied to death, and the verdict is clear: it isn’t about ability. It’s about who gets encouraged to start, and who’s made to feel welcome enough to stay.
Which is exactly why I want more women at our boards. Not as a favor — as players. The fastest way to close a gap like that is to make the room welcoming and then get out of the way and let people play.
So here’s what we’re cooking up.
Here’s the honest origin story. My wife, Halleh, loves this game. Some of her favorite hours are the ones she spends at the board with her dad and with our kids — that’s where her love of chess lives, and she wouldn’t trade it for anything. Having a few friends to play with too would just be a bonus: a board, a drink, good company. And she figured she probably isn’t the only woman around here who’d enjoy exactly that.
So this is, first and foremost, a women’s night out — with a little chess thrown in. Halleh will host it and walk you through the basics herself: how the pieces move, how to start a game, just enough to actually sit down and play. This is not a bootcamp for becoming a chess master. It’s mocktails, a charcuterie board, good company, and a board between you and a new friend.
And let’s be honest about it — there’s a reason chess reads as effortlessly cool and sophisticated. (It’s the same reason The Queen’s Gambit sent so many women straight to a chessboard.) You’ll leave knowing how to play — and looking very good doing it.
Come not knowing a single rule and leave having played your first real game. Bring a friend, or come to make a few.
If that sounds like something you’d show up for, I want to hear from you — it’s the kind of thing we’ll only build if there’s interest, and your feedback shapes whether (and how) it happens.
There’s a seat for you.
Whether you want to play once and never again, drop in every Friday, or someday earn a rating of your own, there’s a seat for you at the Carmel Valley Chess Club. Pull up a chair.
— Coach JB
Interested? Tell Us.
If you’d come to a women’s chess night with Halleh in Carmel Valley — mocktails, charcuterie, an intro to the game — let us know. This only happens if there’s interest, and your reply shapes when and how.
Email Coach JB & Halleh →