#girlsclasses

[richmond-junior-chess-blog]

Girls Classes with Afamia Mir Mahmoud

Our Girls Classes will be lead by Afamia Mir Mahmoud, and are aimed at girls from 5 to 14 years of age, who are less confident and may find themselves overwhelmed in a classroom full of livelier, noisier or competitive boys. Afamia, originally from Syria, was national women's champion 20 times from 1994 to 2014, and drew with Anatoly Karpov, the former world champion, in an exhibition match in 2009. Not only a strong player, she is also an experienced arbiter, awarded the IA (International Arbiter) title by FIDE in 2014. She is also a FIDE Instructor (FI), a title conferred for her work teaching chess, which she does in both the Arabic and English languages. The dates for our classes in Autumn Term 2026 are: - September 19, 26 - October 3 - November 14, 21 The Girls Classes will run from 14:00 to 17:00 on those days in Orleans Park School. They will be charged at £10 per session, but will be free to girls who are termly members of the Intermediate Group at Richmond Juniors. To book your daughter(s) into the Girls Classes for Autumn Term 2026, please use the Booking Girls Classes Form, one per girl. Read the full article

[richmond-junior-chess-blog]

Girls Class Tomorrow

Our next Girls Class with Women's FIDE Master Shohreh Bayat is taking place tomorrow, Saturday 16th September, from 2 to 5 p.m., at Orleans Park School.We recognise that girls can find the world of chess unwelcoming and difficult due to the preponderance of boys participating. We try therefore to encourage girls who are finding the transition from playing at home or playing at a school chess club into the world of competitive chess difficult. Accordingly, we have held monthly Girls Classes for many years, with a strong female lead to inspire and give confidence.Female members of the club are welcome to join the Girls Classes with no additional cost. For non-members, the Girls Classes cost £20 per session, or for all three sessions, the discounted rate of £50.Mothers with an interest in chess are also welcome to sit in with their daughters.Please email to signal intended attendance, or just turn up and ask about the Girls Class.