Girl power at the chess board
MO'NE DAVIS showed everyone at the Little League World Series that girls can thrive in a game that's been dominated by boys when given the opportunity. The same holds for chess. In 2008, ASAP founded Philly Girls Play Chess to encourage the city's chess-playing girls.
MO'NE DAVIS showed everyone at the Little League World Series that girls can thrive in a game that's been dominated by boys when given the opportunity. The same holds for chess. In 2008, ASAP founded Philly Girls Play Chess to encourage the city's chess-playing girls.
"Many girls are intimidated by the fact that there are so many boys, so they choose not to play chess - they should not be," said Ta'Dacia Pinkney, a senior at Franklin Towne Charter School who works as an ASAP Moves Ahead chess mentor. "By playing chess, I became a lot stronger mentally and the intimidation went away."
"Chess has given me the ability to think about and visualize things from different perspectives," she said. As a bonus, as captain of her school's chess team, she's learned about leadership and dedication. "I have also been able to encourage some girls to take part."
Philly Girls Play Chess is part of the Philadelphia Youth Chess Challenge, a community of 250 chess clubs and more than 3,400 youth playing weekly in schools, libraries, community and recreation centers throughout Philadelphia.
