11/10/2026
♟️ 𝗔𝘁 𝟮𝟭, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗔𝘁 𝟴𝟱, 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.
And she once said something I wish every child could understand.
The extraordinary woman in the center of this photograph is 𝗡𝗼𝗻𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘀𝗵𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗶 — five-time Women’s World Chess Champion and the first woman ever to earn the Grandmaster title.
We took this photo outside Nasdaq in New York in 2024.
And this very week, Nona is competing at the World Senior Chess Championships in Serbia.
𝗔𝘁 𝟴𝟱!
Think about that for a moment.
I grew up playing competitive chess in the Soviet Union. I won championships. I experienced the pressure, excitement, and extraordinary discipline that come with playing chess at a high level.
But here’s something I’ve come to appreciate more deeply with age.
𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳. 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲.
On a chessboard, there is nowhere to hide.
You make a decision.
You live with the consequences.
Sometimes you lose a game you should have won.
And then?
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.
In a published interview, Nona said five beautiful words:
“𝗜 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀.”
What wisdom from a woman who has spent a lifetime proving that boundaries are often meant to be challenged.
Today, as I teach a new generation through our children’s chess classes at Chess Queen’s Club in Mountain View, California, I think about this constantly.
- I see children discovering the courage to make their own decisions.
- I see little girls realizing that their ideas matter.
- I see young players learning that a mistake is not the end of the story.
I don’t need every child to become a chess champion.
I want every child to 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 to face a difficult position and believe there is still a move worth making.
Because life, like chess, won’t always give you a winning position.
But it will always ask you to 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲.
❤️ What did losing teach you that winning never could?
