Nana Alexandria – a Pillar of Women's Chess
Until a few decades ago, women chess players were an obvious minority in the
chess playing population. Rated women chess players, an even much smaller entity.
FIDE had separate listings of men and women players. The top places in the International
Rating List were monopolized my men. And the best women chess players belonged
to only a few European countries.

Today, women’s chess has gone a long way. If there’s one particular
individual who can be credited for its tremendous growth and development, it’s
none other than International Woman Grandmaster Nana Alexandria. From 1986 to
2002, Nana was Chairperson of the Commission for Women’s Chess, FIDE’s
permanent committee tasked to promote and develop chess activities for women
and the preparation of programs aiming, progressively, at a better representation
of women in all aspects of chess activities. She was the ideal choice for the
job because of her keen understanding of the means to stimulate interest in
chess.

Nana has accomplished much for women’s chess. She’s the brain behind
the Women’s Chess Oscar Award, the institution of the different age-group
Championships for Girls and the synchronization of the men’s and women’s
championship cycles. Through her recommendations, many open tournaments now
offer prizes to top women players. And lately, she has realized her dream of
staging the Women’s World Team Championship and the inclusion of an all-women
team in the World Team Championship.