Meet the Queens Revolutionizing Chess with Speedy Moves and Viral Fame!

Chess is an old game, but now it is becoming more popular and modern, thanks to some talented women who are using the internet to share their love for the game. One of these women is Nemo Zhou. During the Covid lockdown, Nemo was stuck at home and decided to start streaming her chess games online. She was already a woman grandmaster, which is a very high chess title for women, and she was studying economics and mathematics at the University of Toronto. When she saw how many people were interested in her streams, she decided to leave university and focus on her new career.

Nemo’s timing was perfect. Around the same time, the Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit made chess even more popular. Nemo’s channel grew quickly, and now she has more than two million followers on Twitch, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. She streams for five to six hours a day, at least five days a week, and her biggest audiences are on weekends. Her videos show her playing chess online and in person, sometimes against famous players in New York’s Washington Square Park. She also works with sponsors and other creators, and she travels around the world for chess events. Nemo earns money from ads, brand deals, and people who subscribe to her channel or send her donations. Experts say she could be making a six-figure salary, but Nemo does not talk about her income.

Chess is changing because of people like Nemo. In the past, chess was played in quiet rooms and games could last for hours. Now, there are more fast-paced games, like 'blitz' and 'rapid' chess, where each player only has a few minutes. Some tournaments even use heart rate monitors to show how stressed the players are. Chess is now part of big gaming events, like the Esports World Cup, which helps make the game more exciting and modern. Fiona Steil-Antoni, a woman international master and chess commentator, says that chess needed a makeover and now it is getting one.

Sarah El Barbry is another woman who is helping to change chess. She started making chess videos on TikTok in 2023 and became a streamer in 2025. Sarah noticed that there were not many women streaming chess in French, so she decided to fill that gap. She makes videos of herself playing chess online, teaching others, and doing fun challenges like playing blindfolded. One of her videos, where she started a game with just a King and Queen and won, went viral and got 28 million views. Now, Sarah has more than 75,000 followers. At first, she made very little money, but now she earns about $1,700 a month, which is still less than the minimum wage in France. She streams from her family’s apartment in Paris and has given herself six months to become a successful streamer. If it doesn’t work out, she plans to use her degrees in engineering and business to find another job.

More women and girls are playing chess now than before. The number of female players registered with the world chess federation has grown from 10 percent in 2020 to 16. 5 percent in 2026. In some countries, like Mongolia and Sri Lanka, many girls play chess because it is taught in schools. However, there are still very few women at the top of the chess world. Only three women have ever been in the top 100 players, and Judit Polgar is the only woman to reach the very highest level. Experts say that the gap between men and women in chess is because fewer women play, there are not enough women coaches, and sometimes the chess world is not welcoming to girls. Still, things are improving, and many believe that chess will become more equal in the future.

Nemo and Sarah both have big dreams. Nemo wants to do more than just chess; she is interested in fashion and travel, and she even took part in Paris Fashion Week. Sarah is determined to succeed as a streamer, but she also has a backup plan. These women are showing that chess can be exciting, modern, and open to everyone, and they are inspiring more girls to play and enjoy the game.