1923.
England.
Hastings Chess Club.
A 17-year old girl walked in. She recently moved to England with her family from Russia. Life was tough. Her father’s business shut down, and her parents separated. Now it’s just her, her mother and sister.
On top of that, she was adjusting to a new home, and her English was bad.
But she was good at chess.
This could be the one thing that could offset her insecurities. No need to talk over the board.
She started to play often, receiving the tutelage of a great player named Géza Maróczy. Encouraged by him, she joined the club’s tournament in December 1923. In this tournament, she drew a game with the British Women’s Chess Champion, Edith Price.
In 1926, she won the first Women’s Open Championship hosted by the London Imperial Club. And in the succeeding years, she won the World’s Women Chess Championship — nine times.
To this day, she remains the longest-reigning World Women’s Chess Champion.
Her name was Vera Menchik.
Her being a woman raised the eyebrows of many male chess players. A group of men made bets that anyone who lost to Menchik would be included in the ‘Vera Menchik Club.’
The founder, chess master Albert Becker, was the first member. Other members included grandmasters such Max Euwe and Samuel Reshevsky.
Of note, Vera Menchik’s sister, Olga, was a great chess player in her own right.
Menchik was poised to continue to stun the chess world and challenge its orthodox traditions.
However on June 26, 1944, her life was tragically cut short at age 41. Her home was hit directly by a flying bomb during World War II. Her mother and sister were killed as well. Almost all physical manifestations of her achievements were destroyed to smithereens.
“One of the few surviving awards was a damaged gold medal Menchik had received to honour her then twelve-year reign as world champion in 1939.” (Wikipedia)
Her sudden loss left an enormous void in the chess world.
Menchik’s life was an amazing one.
To this day, she fascinates us, and she continues to set a high standard for women chess players of today.
On this day of June 26, let’s remember her life and her legacy.
Sources: Wikipedia & Salient Women
Massive Congrats to GM Tan Zhongyi for winning the renowned women’s chess tournament, Cairns Cup, which was held at the Saint Louis Chess Club!
Interested in advocating for women in chess? Visit the Women in Chess Foundation to learn more about their programs. They have an upcoming online Advocacy Training workshop on August 11.