By Beth Spotswood
Clouds loomed over the Berkeley Arts Magnet School, but inside, girls
ages 5 to 17 were shining. They were competing in the first-ever Girls
Age Level State Chess Championship, helping turn the tide on the
reputation of chess as the male nerd’s game of choice.
In the chilly school hallway,
79-year-old Elizabeth Shaughnessy pulled her puffy vest tighter and
strode past a row of nervous-looking parents. On the wall alongside her,
colorful student artwork proclaimed, “You are as good as anyone”.
To understand this chess tournament, you need to understand Elizabeth
Shaughnessy. She moved to Berkeley from Dublin and speaks with a
brogue, making her instantly likable. Shaughnessy’s journey to chess
began when she was 3 years old and the Shaughnessys took in a family of
Lithuanian refugees after World War II.
San Francisco Chronicle
