Title: Women Changing Chess in the 21st Century: The Growth of Streaming and Digital Engagement
In recent years, chess has changed a lot, mainly because of the creative work of women who are changing how the game is seen and who can play it. This change has been helped by the rise of online streaming platforms, viral videos, and a growing community of women who love chess. Notable figures like Nemo Zhou and Sarah El Barbry have become important personalities, attracting audiences and changing what it means to be a chess player today.
Nemo Zhou is a woman grandmaster and a well-known chess streamer. She started her journey in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, she was a student at the University of Toronto, studying economics and mathematics. Feeling the limits of lockdown, Zhou decided to try chess streaming to connect with the game and earn some money. At first, she appeared on a friend’s channel, but soon she saw the potential for her own streaming career. This was a perfect time for her venture, as it coincided with the release of the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, which sparked a global interest in chess.
Zhou's channel quickly became popular. Realizing the opportunity, she made the brave choice to leave university and fully commit to her new career. Now, at 26 years old, she has over two million followers on different platforms, including Twitch, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Zhou streams for about five to six hours each day, at least five days a week, with her largest audiences tuning in on weekends. Her content is varied, showing both online matches and in-person games, including games with skilled players in New York's Washington Square Park.
The financial rewards from Zhou's streaming career are significant. She earns money through different sources: on YouTube, her income comes from views, ads, and brand partnerships; on Instagram, she makes money from sponsored posts; and on Twitch, she earns from subscriptions and donations, known as "bits." Dr. Nina Willment, a researcher at the University of York, estimates that a content creator with Zhou's level of followers could earn a six-figure salary when combining income from all platforms. However, Zhou has chosen not to share her exact earnings, which is common among streamers who often keep their financial details private.
The growth of chess streaming is not just about individual success stories; it shows a larger cultural change in the chess community. Traditionally, elite chess was known for silent, long matches in formal settings, with little effort to attract casual viewers. This is changing, as top tournaments now include "rapid" and "blitz" formats, where players have as little as three minutes per game. Also, the use of heart rate monitors during matches gives viewers insights into the players' stress levels during important moments. The inclusion of chess in major events, like the Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, further shows the game's increasing popularity and appeal.
Fiona Steil-Antoni, a woman international master and commentator, highlights the need for chess to change its image. She believes that the game needed a "makeover" to attract a larger audience, and she is hopeful about the progress being made. Steil-Antoni points out that female representation in chess streaming is increasing, with female-led channels now making up a significant part of the most-watched chess streams on platforms like Twitch. Despite this progress, she acknowledges that most chess content creators and their audiences are still mostly male.
Another rising star in the chess streaming world is Sarah El Barbry, a 24-year-old content creator with Egyptian and Moroccan roots who grew up in Paris. El Barbry started her journey in chess content creation on TikTok in 2023, inspired by the lack of female representation in French-language chess streaming. Her content includes a mix of online gameplay, educational segments, and unique challenges, such as playing blindfolded. One of her videos, where she showcased a game starting with only a King and Queen and achieving checkmate, went viral, gaining 28 million views and significantly increasing her follower count to over 75,000.
Despite the potential for good earnings in chess streaming, El Barbry's journey has not been easy. At first, she earned a modest $117 per month from streaming. However, after expanding her presence to YouTube, her income has grown to about $1,700 monthly, still below France's minimum wage. Dr. Willment notes that while the success of well-known streamers like Zhou and El Barbry is impressive, it often overshadows the struggles of many others trying to enter the industry without financial success.
As of January 2026, statistics show that female-led channels account for about half of the top 20 most-watched chess streams on Twitch, excluding corporate channels. However, the audience is still mostly male. El Barbry initially estimated that her audience was 95% male, a figure that has since changed to around 85%. She believes that her identity as a woman in the chess community helps her viewership, stating, "I’m OK with that because, you know, it’s a part of the game." Zhou's experience is similar, as she reports that her YouTube audience is about 80% male, while her Instagram chess page has a more balanced gender distribution.
The chess boom has not only increased visibility for women in the game but has also led to more women participating at competitive levels. The percentage of female players registered with the World Chess Federation (FIDE) for standard time controls has increased from 10% in 2020 to 16%. Despite this progress, the elite ranks of chess remain mostly male, with no women currently in the top 100 players and only three women having achieved this distinction in history. Research suggests that the performance gap between male and female players can be linked to various factors, including lower participation rates, a lack of female coaches, and environments that may not be welcoming to girls and women.
Countries that focus on chess education in primary schools, such as Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Uganda, show smaller participation gaps, with female players making up significant portions of registered players. Steil-Antoni expresses cautious optimism about the future, believing that the game is moving closer to achieving gender equality.
As Zhou expands her brand beyond chess into lifestyle, travel, and fashion content, she continues to set ambitious goals, including signing with a modeling agency and reaching one million followers on her Instagram chess page. Meanwhile, El Barbry is dedicated to her streaming career, giving herself a six-month timeframe to establish herself in the industry. If she does not succeed, she plans to switch to a corporate career, using her civil engineering degree and master's in business management.
The stories of Zhou and El Barbry highlight the exciting changes happening in the chess world, as women are not only playing the game but are also leading its evolution into the digital age. Their journeys serve as inspiration for aspiring chess players and content creators, showing the potential for success and the importance of representation in a field that has been historically male-dominated. As the chess community continues to embrace innovation and inclusivity, the future looks promising for women in the game.
