I’m Dawn Lawson, a librarian and translator. When I’m not at my day job or struggling with 19th-century Japanese, I’m doing something related to chess. I’ve found the online chess community in Twitter and elsewhere to be super welcoming, and I wanted to give back by sharing a record of my own experiences with this great pastime.
Perhaps you’re wondering why the title of this is so demographically specific. Well, women are very much in the minority in the chess world (constituting about 15 percent of players), and although they also compete in open tournaments against all genders, women-only chess tournaments, classes, and clubs continue to exist–and flourish. There are many sound reasons for this (see, for example, this one from the great Jennifer Shahade). The “older” refers to my being sixty-something, but I’m hopeful that my journey will inspire all ages and genders, whether in the form of getting them to take up or persevere at chess or even just putting them in touch with a helpful book, podcast, or other resource.