11/23/25: First CHESS CARDINALS GIRLS FESTIVAL

Thanks to the vital support provided by the USCF Women’s Grant, Chess Cardinals successfully conducted its FIRST ever Girls Chess Festival! ♟️💖 Thank you to every girl who played, every family who supported, and everyone who helped us create a space where girls could compete, learn, and lead with confidence. Special thanks to Aleksey who gave a lecture! This is just the beginning our mission is to grow a stronger, louder, and more connected community of female chess players. If you weren’t able to make it to this one, mark your calendars for next time. Let’s keep building opportunities, breaking barriers, and bringing more girls into the game. See you at the next one! ♟️✨

9/17/25: Daniel Boone Library Chess Education Event

Thanks to the vital support provided by the USCF Women’s Grant, Chess Cardinals successfully launched its first public library chess education series at the Daniel Boone Library in Chesterfield, MO. This program was organized and spearheaded by our Women’s Chess Ambassador, Suman Sahoo. This initiative is structured as a free, monthly recurring series held every second Monday of the month, ensuring consistent, accessible education for the community. The classes cover a comprehensive range of chess instruction, from basic fundamentals to intermediate topics. The inaugural event was met with overwhelming community support, creating a positive and engaging learning environment, particularly for beginner players. We also wish to acknowledge Namita Bikram and Bikram Sahoo for their significant volunteer contributions. The USCF women’s grant support was instrumental in making this valuable community outreach and education program possible.

8/17/25: Women’s Free Masterclass Chess Lecture

With the generous support of the US Chess Federation Women’s Grant, Chess Cardinals successfully hosted an inspiring 2-hour Women’s Free Masterclass. The event was led by Coach Aleksey and brought together a large group of girls in a supportive and energetic learning environment. The masterclass provided a valuable opportunity for female players to learn, engage with the game, and connect with their peers. The positive atmosphere and high level of participation underscored the event’s success. We were also fortunate to have the assistance of a dedicated volunteer & Women Chess Ambassador, Vihaana Subhash, who helped ensure the session ran smoothly. This event would not have been possible without the USCF Women’s Grant. We are deeply grateful for the Federation’s commitment to advancing women’s chess and are excited to continue offering these impactful sessions in the future.

7/27/2025: 21st C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

The “last Sunday of the month” All Women’s C4K-USCF tournament for July (held on the 27th) was a great success. Laurel was the champion, achieving a perfect score of 4 points. Nia and Ellena followed closely behind, each with 3 points. The event saw great participation, including Allison Karna playing alongside her daughter, and marked the first USCF tournament for players Gwen and Lassya. A big thank you went out to the tournament directors (TDs): Nidhisri, Ian, and Eli. and of course, none of this is possible without the USCF Womens Grants support!

7/20/2025: USCF All GIRLS FREE CHESS LECTURE

We are delighted to report the successful execution of an All-Girls Chess Cardinals Free Masterclass, a 2-hour event made possible through the generous US Chess Federation Women’s Grant. The class, led by Coach Aleksey, was highly effective in empowering women in chess, with participants showing strong engagement and enthusiasm. The club is grateful for Coach Aleksey’s support and is planning to host several more free classes next month to continue this positive momentum in supporting the future of girls’ chess.

7/19/25: FREE CHESS CAMP FOR GIRLS (K-5) AT SPENCER LIBRARY

On July 19th, 2025, a successful Girls Beginner Chess Class was hosted at the Spencer Road Branch Library in St. Charles, providing a free and engaging introduction to chess for girls in grades K–5. The session focused on teaching fundamental chess basics and incorporating fun games and snacks to create a welcoming learning environment. The event was made possible thanks to the dedicated leadership of Vihaana Subhash and the essential volunteer support from Nidhishri, Anagha, Meghana, and participating parents. This initiative was proudly sponsored by the US Chess Federation (USCF), demonstrating its impact in bringing chess to more young minds in the community.

6/29/25: USCF MONTHLY RECURRING CHESS TOURNAMENT

The All-Women’s Chess Tournament held on the morning of July 29, 2025, was a resounding success, marked by brilliant strategy, competition, and mutual support among the female players. A key highlight was the excellent leadership provided by the tournament staff: new USCF Chief Tournament Director and female player, Suman Sahoo, and Assistant TD Nidhisri. Their presence was noted as an inspiring example for the participants.

6/22/25: FREE USCF WOMEN’S CHESS LECTURE

The USCF-Chess Cardinals Free Chess Workshop, a 2-hour lecture held on Sunday, June 22nd, was a great success. This exclusive event for female chess players was made possible through grant support from the US Chess Federation Women’s Grant. Coach Aleksey ran the workshop, which provided valuable instruction and proved to be an effective initiative in supporting women in the chess community.

03May to 04May2025: Two Day USCF WOMEN’S CHESS workshop

The two-day FREE GIRLS ONLY Chess Workshop, held on Saturday, May 3rd, and Sunday, May 4th, 2025, proved to be an overwhelming and inspiring success. Led by the highly acclaimed Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Toshali Vittanala, the event achieved excellent attendance across both 2-hour sessions., bringing together a group of female chess players ranging from ambitious beginners to seasoned competitors. The atmosphere was electric, defined by focus and enthusiasm as WFM Vittanala shared high-level strategy and tactical insights. Audience involvement was exceptionally high, with participants actively engaging through thoughtful questions, lively post-mortem analysis of games, and focused participation in practical exercises, which underscored the passion these young women hold for the game. WFM Vittanala’s approachable yet challenging instruction style left attendees feeling significantly more confident and equipped to improve their play. This impactful initiative, which clearly succeeded in strengthening the female chess community, was made possible solely by the extraordinary generosity and financial support provided by the US Chess Federation Women Grant and the Riley’s Way Foundation.

4/30/24: Impact of USCF Women’s Grant on Tournament Success

The generous US Chess Federation Women’s Grant has been instrumental in creating a positive, equal, and successful environment at the club’s routine weekly tournaments. This supportive atmosphere, driven by great coaching and strong peer encouragement, has significantly boosted women’s participation and performance. The concrete results are evident in the recent outstanding achievements of students Anagha and Meghna Mukil in the Monday night tournament. Both girls went undefeated and tied for first place, demonstrating their rapid development. Anagha achieved a 1317 rating by defeating a much higher-rated opponent, while Meghna reached a new peak of 1279, securing an impressive gain of 216 rating points in a single month. Further illustrating this impact, Suman Sahoo won the prestigious Top Female award at the St. Louis Chess Club’s Scholastic Tournament, contributing to the K-12 team’s 4th place finish. These achievements collectively highlight the grant’s critical role in empowering high-performing female chess players through community and positive coaching.

3/30/25: USCF All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

The Chess Cardinals All Women’s Chess Tournament held on March 30th was a great success, with all participants demonstrating incredible skill and sportsmanship. Regardless of the final outcome, the girls showcased a high level of effort and competitiveness. The event was highlighted as a significant and positive step forward in the chess journey of every female player involved.

3/10/25: 2025 WOMENS DAY CELEBRATION

Celebrating Women in Chess! 

 What an incredible International Women’s Day celebration and Monday Gambits at Chess Cardinals! We were thrilled to welcome over 60 participants, including talented female chess players, supportive parents, relatives, dedicated teachers, and fellow players who came to cheer everyone on. The atmosphere was electric with fun and camaraderie! We enjoyed exciting chess games, a thrilling puzzle race, creative chess piece painting, and fun temporary tattoos. Everyone loved the delicious cake inscribed with “Chess Cardinals,” along with cookies, and pizza. This was truly one of our most memorable events, and we couldn’t have done it without the amazing organizing team led by Abirami Sureshkumar and Namita Bikram, and the many fantastic volunteers who supported them. Together, we’re building a strong and inclusive community, celebrating the incredible women in chess and in our lives! Thank you to everyone who made this day so special!! We want to also thank the US Chess Federation for their wonderful support to our women’s chess excellence program and the Riley’s way foundation for the C4K fellowship. 

2/23/25: USCF ALL GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

The 17th monthly C4K-USCF All Women’s Chess Tournament was a great success, featuring 10 amazing players battling it out over four intense rounds. Ayati Sharma was crowned the tournament CHAMPION, with Lisa Cheng securing the 2nd place title on tie-breaks. The club expressed immense pride in all participants for their competitive spirit and performance.

1/26/25: 16th C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

This was our 16th C4K-USCF All Women’s tournament today. A great tournament and friendly atmosphere for all female players to come together. Please spread the word and hope to see you all back next month too.

11/9/24: School Outreach Program for Women in Chess:

We had a blast at the Checkmate Challenge Community Chess Tournament at Lindbergh High School! As part of our school outreach program, we set up a booth to share our mission and highlight our various tournaments and educational programs. It was inspiring to see so many people interested in our efforts to increase girls’ participation in chess. Thanks to US Chess women’s grant support, we’ll be providing USCF memberships to girls and organizing more dedicated tournaments and lectures. A huge thank you to Aleksey Kazakevich and Robert Hudson for inviting us to this event. We couldn’t have done it without our amazing volunteers Satish, Ankit Singhal, Jitesh Gupta who dedicated their Saturday morning to Chess Cardinals. Special mention to youngsters, Avy and Pritish. You guys are the real MVPs!

10/27/24: 13th C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

Our own club ran the 13th monthly All Women’s Chess Tournament this morning, which went really well. After four rounds of G/25 games, Vihaana came first with a perfect 4 points, while Meghana bagged second place with 3 points. Congratulations to everyone who participated! Special thanks to Alison Foo-Karna who also played along with the kids and helped with prize distribution. We are incredibly privileged to have grant support from the USCF Women’s Grant and Riley’s Way Foundation, which covered the tournament, trophies, medals, and snacks. We conduct this tournament Last Sunday of each month on a recurring basis. See you all back

8/29/24: 11th C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

We were thrilled to host our 11th monthly recurring All Women’s Chess Tournament at our new chess club location with 10 players participating in four rounds of intense competition. Suman emerged as the champion with a perfect score of 4, securing the top spot and taking home the coveted trophy. Meghna followed closely behind, earning second place with 3 points. We’d like to express our gratitude to the Riley’s Way Foundation for their generous grant support. Their contribution allowed us to run this tournament at $1 entry fee, provide trophy, medals, snacks and juice for all participants, making the tournament even more enjoyable. As we continue to strive to increase female participation in chess, we invite new players and enthusiasts to join us for our next tournament. We’re always open to new ideas and suggestions.

5/9/24: Congratulations to Gaaya & Vihaana Subhash, 2024 C4K Kindness Fellow

Huge congratulations to Gaaya Binoj, founder of Chess Cardinals and 2023 Call for Kindness (C4K) fellow, and Vihaana Subhash, our exemplary volunteer of the year, on receiving a continuation fellowship from the Riley’s Way Foundation! This grant recognizes your incredible work over the past year in reducing the gender gap in chess and promoting women’s fellowship programs at Chess Cardinals. Thanks to Riley’s Way Foundation, Chess Cardinals is thrilled to announce the official opening of a new branch in South Bend, Indiana! We’re going multi-state and we sincerely appreciate the support we received from the foundation. The C4K Fellowship is a prestigious national program that provides funding and leadership development training to 40 youth-led projects focused on kindness and community building. Gaaya was the introductory speaker at the 2024 C4K celebration!

4/28/24: 8th C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

It was an exciting day at Chess Cardinals Club, packed with multiple events! This morning, we hosted our 8th monthly C4K All Women’s Chess Championship, and for the first time, we introduced two distinct sections: Reserve and Open! In the Open section, congratulations to the tournament winners who topped the charts: Suman (1st place), Nidhishree (2nd place), Anagha (3rd place) & Vihaana (4th place)

3/31/24: 7th C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

Our All-Women’s Chess Tournament saw a fantastic turnout with 20 players. The atmosphere was electric, and the endgames were nail-biting! The top board even ended in a thrilling draw and a big congratulations to Meghna on Board-2 in the final round for winning the Championship in a decisive victory! Her twin sister Anagha secured the runner-up position. Well played, both of you! A special shoutout to Amber Jordan and Alison Foo-Karna our amazing volunteer parents who not only participated in the tournament but also graced the prize-giving ceremony. Thank you for your dedication!!

2/25/24: 6th C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

Our 6th monthly C4K All Women’s Chess Championship was a resounding success! We saw 24 female chess players participate, the most ever in this tournament’s history! The competition was fierce, with nail-biting finishes keeping the audience entertained throughout all four rounds. Congratulations to: * Anagha our champion, taking home the trophy with a perfect 4/4 score! Suman, our runner-up, finished strong with 3 points! and our amazing third-place winners were shared by 5 players!! A special shout-out to the four brave adult players! Your participation inspires our younger players and proves that chess is for everyone, regardless of age. Mark your calendars! The 7th edition of this tournament will be held on the last Sunday of March. Bring a friend, colleague, or family member and join us as we continue to close the gender gap in chess together!

1/28/24: 5th C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

Thanks to all our female players who participated in the 5th Chess Cardinals C4K All Women’s Tournament yesterday! Congrats to Suman for winning the tournament with 4 points!! We also had three absolute beginners and we look forward to seeing you all more. Please note, there is no age limit for females to play in this tournament. Thanks to Dr. Nallapeneni who competed along with her daughter in this tournament and set a role model example for all moms, aunts, and grandmothers. You are the best! A good read: Why More Moms Should Play Chess? https://www.chess.com/…/why-more-moms-should-play-chess…! Thanks to Riley’s Way Foundation for their generous support through Call 4 Kindness Grant and we are immensely grateful!

12/03/23: Fourth C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

Exciting finish to the Fourth C4K All Girls Tournament! 10 players participated & Suman clinched the first-place trophy with an impressive 4 points, while Meghana secured a strong second with 3.5 points. Congratulations to both! This marks the grand finale for the All Girls series in 2023. Many thanks to the Riley’s Way Foundation who sponsored this event! Thanks to all our wonderful volunteers who helped to smoothly run this tournament !! Can’t wait to welcome you all back in January 2024 for more thrilling matches! https://www.rileysway.org

10/29/23: THIRD C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

Hey everyone, quick update about the 3rd C4K All Girls Chess Tournament at Chess Cardinals Center! 🤩 So, we had a bit of a low turnout this time, but 8 amazing players still showed up and gave it their all in 4 intense rounds. 🏆 And guess what? It was a nail-biter! Suman, Anagha, and Vihaana totally rocked it and ended up tying for the top spot. Go girls! 🥳 But the fun didn’t stop there – everyone else also got some cool consolation prizes, so no one left empty-handed. 🙌 Big shoutout to Dr. Hari for treating us to a scrumptious cake. 🍰 What’s chess without a sweet treat, right? And last but not least, we couldn’t have done it without the amazing support from Riley’s Foundation. 🙏 Their grant made this whole event possible, and we’re super grateful! All in all, it was more than just a chess tourney – it was a true girls’ fellowship. Thanks to everyone who joined and supported us!

10/22/23: SECOND ALL GIRLS CHESS WORKSHOP

With generous support from Riley’s Way Call for Kindness (C4K) program and the intent to empower and uplift female participation in the world of chess, we conducted the second chess workshop exclusively designed for girls. Our workshop series aims not only to strengthen their chess skills but also to cultivate lasting friendships within the chess community. The workshop was done on Sunday, OCT 22nd, from 2-4 PM CST.  Woman FIDE Master Dhyana Patel taught a free lecture, engaged in a simul with girls, and provided chess guidance/Q&A in this workshop. She is an accomplished chess player, having won numerous high-profile tournaments in India and around the world! She is currently rated 2139 on USCF, and 2080 on FIDE. Her invaluable expertise and insights inspired and motivated our young female participants. All in all, it was a memorable Sunday filled with fun and learning. Here’s some glimpses from the event.

9/24/23: SECOND C4K All GIRLS CHESS TOURNAMENT

The second Chess Cardinals C4K All Girls Tournament just concluded today. This is a platform designed to empower girls in the realm of chess while fostering friendships and enhancing female participation. Asha Silva emerged as the definitive champion, exhibiting exceptional skills to secure an impressive 4-point victory. Vihaana, Meghna and Charlotte displayed remarkable skill, finishing joint second with 3 points each. Congratulations to each one of you and also, every player who participated!! We extend our sincere gratitude to the parents and volunteers who ensured its seamless execution. Furthermore, our deep appreciation to Riley’s Way Foundation for their generous, Call for Kindness (C4K) grant!! Please save the date (Oct 29th) as we meet again for the third Chess Cardinals C4K All Girls Tournament. This will be a recurring fixture, taking place on the last Sunday of every month. Join us in celebrating the spirit of chess & friendship. #girlpower #womenempoweringwomen #chessgirl

8/27/23

INAUGURAL C4K CHESS CARDINALS All GIRLS CHESS Tournament

We are delighted to announce the successful completion of the inaugural Chess Cardinals C4K All Girls Tournament, a platform designed to empower girls in the realm of chess while fostering friendships and enhancing female participation. A total of 16 remarkable young girls took center stage in this tournament. The games unfolded in a thrilling fashion, replete with moments of sheer brilliance and nail-biting finishes. Devanshi emerged as the definitive champion, exhibiting exceptional skills to secure an impressive 3-point victory. Suman and Vihaana displayed remarkable skill, finishing in close succession with 2.5 points each. Additionally, a five-way tie for the third position was achieved by Milly, Nidhi, Anu, Diya, and Advika, each securing a commendable 2 points. Congratulations to each one of you and also, every player who participated!! We extend our sincere gratitude to the parents whose steadfast support bolstered this event, and to the volunteers who ensured its seamless execution. Furthermore, we would like to express our deep appreciation to Riley’s Way Foundation for their generous grant, a vital contribution that enabled the realization of this exceptional event. As we look ahead, we are thrilled to announce that the Chess Cardinals C4K All Girls Tournament will be a recurring fixture, taking place on the last Sunday of every month. Join us in celebrating the spirit of competition and camaraderie on September 24th. We invite you to help us spread the word and make this ongoing endeavor even more rewarding.

A quick update on our first Free Girls Chess Workshop held yesterday! We had a such a great evening with WGM Dorsa Derakhshani. Huge thanks for her outstanding teaching and for generously dedicating her time to conduct this free class. You are the best, Dorsa!!!

Enlightening Lecture: During the workshop, WGM Dorsa Derakhshani showcased a beautiful game, teaching the students about the value of analyzing losses. Additionally, she highlighted the availability of free chess improvement resources, such as lichess and the YouTube channel Hanging Pawns, providing the girls with valuable tools for further growth.

Thrilling Simul Experience: A highlight of the workshop was the 9-player simultaneous exhibition. The girls had a fantastic time playing against such an accomplished player. After simul, Dorsa spent some time discussing life lessons she gained from her games and how she preps for big games!

Stay tuned for the next girls workshop! last but not least, all this was made possible due to a wonderful support from Riley’s Way Foundation!! Heartfelt thanks https://www.rileysway.org/call-for-kindness/