FIDE Commission for Women's Chess to Hold Meeting in Samarkand
FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess to Hold Meeting During 2026 Chess Olympiad
Women’s chess will have a dedicated platform to discuss key issues during the year’s biggest team chess event. The FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess (WOM) will hold its meeting on September 22, 2026, in Samarkand, where the 46th Chess Olympiad will be taking place. Unlike many internal working meetings, the event will be open to the wider chess community, with participants able to attend either in person or online.
The meeting will focus on more than just the development of women’s competitions. Organizers want to look at chess from a broader perspective — as a space for careers, entrepreneurship, content creation, and new professional opportunities for women.
The Meeting Will Take Place in Samarkand
The 46th Chess Olympiad will be held from September 15 to 27, 2026, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The event features both Open and Women’s sections, with each competition consisting of 11 rounds. Alongside the Olympiad, the FIDE Congress and a number of federation commission meetings will also take place.
It is within this busy program that the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess will hold its annual meeting.
Date: September 22, 2026
Time: 15:00–18:00 UTC+5
Format: In person and online
The three-hour meeting is titled “Beyond the Board: Women, Innovation and the Business of Chess.”
The title itself reflects WOM’s intention to look beyond sporting results and discuss the wider role of women in the modern chess ecosystem.
Why the Conversation Is Moving Beyond the Chessboard
For many years, discussions about women’s chess focused primarily on tournaments, ratings, championships, and increasing the number of female participants. However, the modern chess industry has become much broader.
Today, a professional chess career can include coaching, tournament organization, media projects, streaming, social media, entrepreneurship, and educational initiatives.
These areas will be among the key topics discussed at the WOM meeting.
Commission Chair Tris-Ann Richards has pointed out that many women leave chess because they do not see a clear path toward building a sustainable and profitable career in the game. One of the goals of the meeting is therefore to challenge this perception and highlight real opportunities for women both on and beyond the chessboard.
This represents an important shift in the approach to developing women’s chess. The objective is no longer simply to encourage more girls and women to take up chess, but also to create conditions that allow them to remain part of the chess community throughout their professional lives.
Who Will Speak at the Meeting?
The program includes several presentations covering different aspects of the modern chess industry.
WIM Fiona Antoni will discuss her transition from professional chess to entrepreneurship and how new opportunities can be created within the chess ecosystem.
Sagar Shah, co-founder of ChessBase India, will speak about the business of chess, investment, and the future prospects of the industry.
Christina Aziz will focus on opportunities for women, their influence, and different professional pathways within chess.
Another presentation will examine career and business opportunities created through digital content, streaming, and personal branding.
In this sense, the meeting is set to serve as a bridge between traditional chess and the rapidly evolving digital chess industry.
WOM to Review Its Work Over the Past Year
A separate part of the meeting will focus on the commission’s achievements and its priorities for the future.
Participants will discuss WOM’s completed and ongoing initiatives, including:
* Queens and Princesses Festival
* Chess Mom
* Chess for Protection
* Chess Marathon
* Chess4All
* Queens Gambit Challenge
The commission will also provide an update on its 2026 global research project and the Women in Chess Index, which is designed to provide a clearer picture of the position of women in chess across different countries and regions.
This is particularly important because the development of women’s chess cannot be measured solely by the number of titled players or medals won. Access to chess education, as well as women’s participation in tournament organization, coaching, officiating, administration, and other areas, are becoming increasingly important indicators.
ChessMom: Supporting Players with Children
One of WOM’s most notable initiatives remains the ChessMom project.
The initiative was first launched at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest and is designed to support professional female chess players raising young children. FIDE provides financial assistance for an accompanying person who can take care of the child while the player is competing.
The project has expanded further in 2026.
While the pilot program in 2024 supported five chess players, 12 players will participate in the program at the Samarkand Olympiad. In addition, the age limit for eligible children has been increased from one year to two years.
This demonstrates that balancing professional sport and family life is gradually becoming part of FIDE’s broader policy toward supporting women in chess.
A Growing Focus on New Opportunities
The WOM meeting is also significant because it reflects a changing understanding of what women’s chess can be.
A modern female chess player does not have to be only a competitor. She can become a coach, organizer, commentator, blogger, streamer, entrepreneur, or the founder of her own project.
That is why topics such as personal branding, digital content, and business are becoming increasingly relevant.
This is particularly important for young chess players. Even if a player never reaches the level required to challenge for a world championship title, there can still be a long-term professional future for her within the chess industry.
The purpose of initiatives like these is to make those opportunities visible before a talented player decides to leave chess altogether.
Why Samarkand Is the Right Place for the Conversation
Holding the meeting alongside the Chess Olympiad carries symbolic significance.
Thousands of members of the global chess community will gather in Samarkand. The Women’s Olympiad will not simply be a separate competition, but an integral part of one of the largest international chess events, with women’s teams receiving attention alongside the Open section.
The 2026 Olympiad program also includes extensive work by FIDE commissions and other organizations. Commission meetings are scheduled throughout the event, while the FIDE General Assembly is set for September 26–27.
As a result, the WOM meeting will take place at the heart of a broader process of discussing decisions and shaping the future of international chess.
What Could Change After the Meeting?
The key question is whether the meeting will remain another discussion or become a starting point for new initiatives.
There is certainly potential for the latter. The commission is already working across several areas, from supporting mothers and young female players to educational and social projects.
At the same time, expanding professional opportunities for women could prove just as important as increasing participation in tournaments.
When a woman can see chess as a viable path toward a long-term career, she is more likely to remain part of the chess ecosystem.
That is why the “Beyond the Board” theme is particularly relevant. The future of women’s chess will not be determined solely by who wins the next tournament. It will also depend on how accessible, inclusive, and professionally attractive the chess environment becomes.
Conclusion
The FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess meeting on September 22 in Samarkand will be one of the notable events in the business and professional program surrounding the 2026 Chess Olympiad. The agenda will cover not only the commission’s work, but also a much broader question: what role can women play in the modern chess industry?
From supporting players with children to entrepreneurship, from digital content to gender equality research, the discussion is moving far beyond the traditional understanding of women’s chess.
And that may be the most important message of the upcoming meeting.
If women’s chess is to continue growing, it is not enough to create more tournaments. More opportunities must be created as well.
Samarkand will provide a setting for members of the chess community to discuss how that can be achieved — and what the future of women in chess should look like.