On the rest day of the Prague International Chess Festival 2026, organizers hosted a special programme to support women's chess and celebrate the Futures tournament for young female players. Swedish grandmaster Pia Cramling delivered a lecture and simultaneous exhibition, while Czech actress Aňa Geislerová received an introduction to the game from Indian player Divya Deshmukh. The event aimed to inspire and motivate the next generation of female chess players.
The Prague International Chess Festival 2026 featured a dedicated Women's Day on Monday, March 2, at the Grand Hotel Prague Towers and other venues in Prague. This second-year initiative focused on the Futures category, an exclusively female tournament for young talents, with Pia Cramling serving as ambassador.
Cramling began with an expert lecture for Futures participants at the Don Giovanni Hotel. She then conducted a simultaneous exhibition near Vyšehrad against Prague Futures players. Germany's Lilian Schirmbeck was the only one to defeat her, stating, "I was really happy to play against her because I am a big fan of Pia Cramling."
Czech actress Aňa Geislerová, a five-time winner of the Czech Film and Television Academy Awards, attended and learned chess basics from Indian champion Divya Deshmukh, a participant in the Challengers section. Geislerová remarked, "Divya was magical because she thought she could genuinely teach me something. She's incredibly communicative and kind." She added, "I'm here to support this. When you give something a face, you give it weight - and this is exactly the kind of thing that deserves it." Geislerová also addressed broader issues, noting, "Women are reaching places they have never been before in history. On the other hand, that history is also coming back to us in certain ways. The fight for women's rights and equality concerns women in all fields." She highlighted that sport remains an area needing improvement.
Anastasia Sorokina, Chair of the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess, emphasized the importance of such events: "I am very grateful to the organisers of big tournaments like Prague International Chess Festival... for giving the extra opportunity for the girls, for the future stars. But of course it's never enough... Now we have only 10 percent of women among chess players. So it's difficult for girls to prove how strong they are."
Additional activities included an autograph session with Cramling, simultaneous exhibitions by Czech national team players Anna Lhotská and Tereza Rodshtein, and an inspirational seminar by Jeroen van den Berg, director of Tata Steel Chess and founder of the Women in Chess Foundation. The evening concluded with a screening of the award-winning documentary Sofonisba's Chess Game. The event welcomed all interested girls, regardless of skill level, with free public admission to foster growth in women's chess.
