While growing up playing competitive chess, Ashley Priore faced harassment, misogyny, and, sexism. With her nonprofit Queens Gambit Chess Institute, she hopes to change the world of chess, while helping young women realize their full potential.
"As time went on, I was still playing, but the atmosphere for women and girls in chess didn't get any better," she said.
"I wanted chess to sort of be the vehicle where women take control of the chessboard, and then they can take control of their life. They can learn all of these different skills, like strategy, critical thinking, and concentration. They can learn how to look at a problem and find multiple solutions for it."
"When I was playing chess, it not only opened so many doors for me to be able to concentrate and sit for long hours at a time. It allowed me to feel like I had control of something," Priore said. Towards the end of 2020, Priore and her students were talking about more than just chess virtually. For the first time, a series about chess with a female character at the helm was released on Netflix.While she loves the series because it highlights a strong woman playing chess, she was disappointed in some of the plot points.
As she began campaigning, she said she often faced harassment or incredulous comments from her male counterparts. And when they weren't commenting, she says, they were typically ignoring her.