7th edition of the London Chess Conference takes place on 30th November and 1st December 2019, with the main theme Chess & Female Empowerment.
The conference examines the involvement of women and girls in chess and presents insights into how to improve the gender balance. 2019 London Chess Conference will be of interest to women chess players, organisers and educators. Primary and secondary school teachers will learn how to make chess a more engaging activity through its social and collaborative modes. Workshops, presentations, debates, round tables and demonstrations will also provide ideas and initiatives for those striving to improve the engagement of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
ECU Educational Commission will present on the Conference new findings from two major surveys on women and girls in chess. A large study conducted by the European Chess Union presents statistics on women and girls in national federations throughout Europe. A study conducted through the US Chess Federation will provide qualitative insights into chess and gender issues, while an analysis of online play in the Netherlands will provide details of how boys and girls compare.
Several speakers will relate their own personal experiences as a woman in a male environment whether playing, arbitring or organising.
A wide range of issues will be covered including:
- creating a safe and welcome environment for women
- successful women who played chess
- why do girls give up chess?
- how to make chess more accessible to women
- challenges for women officials
- lessons from other sports
More than 40 lecturers and speakers will attend the Conference, coming from 18 countries. Among the speakers of the 7th London Chess Conference are: Janton van Apeldoorn (NED), Rita Atkins (HUN), Lorin d’Costa (ENG), José Antonio Coleto Calderón (ESP), James Conlon (ENG), Julie Denning (ENG), Alessandro Dominici (ITA), Dr. Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni (ENG), Chris Fegan (ENG), John Foley (ENG), Tania Folie (BEL), Fernand Gobet (SUI), Ljubica Lazarevic (SRB), Alice O’Gorman (IRL), Maureen Grimaud (USA), José Manuel González Guillorme (ESP), Jesper Hall (SWE), Alexis Harakis (ENG), Jovanka Houska (ENG), Sarah Hurst (ENG), Jo Hutchinson (ENG), Mads Jacobsen (DEN), Ilaha Kadimova (AZE), Stefan Löffler (GER), Smbat Lputyan (ARM), Sean Marsh (ENG), Carol Meyer (USA), Etienne Mensch (FRA), Jerry Nash (USA), Vince Negri (ENG), Mikkel Norgaard (DEN), Brigitta Peszleg (HUN), Marcel Pruijt (NED), Sophia Rohde (USA), Jonathan Rowson (SCO), Agnieska Sapkowska (POL), Vahan Sargsyan (ARM), Pep Suarez (ESP), Mark Szavin (HUN), Malcolm Pein (ENG) and Mike Truran (ENG).
Besides the main team of Female chess, London Chess Conference will also focus on chess education and chess in schools programs and development.
A week after the end of the Conference, in period from 2nd-6th December, professional teacher training courses certificated by the European Chess Union will take place in the venue of the Conference. The courses cover Teaching Chess in Primary School (ECU101) and Learning Mathematics through Chess (ECU102). Further details can be found here.
The event is lead sponsored by FIDE, Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC), the European Chess Union (ECU) and the English Chess Federation (ECF).
Photographs from London Chess Conference 2018
