42 girls battle it out at the Athena Finals event in London

The She Plays To Win Athena Finals took place at the London Mindsports Centre in Hammersmith, London, on Saturday 26th March 2026.

Girls had to go through qualifying rounds to get to the finals.

University girls had to come top 6 at the University Girls Chess Tournament in November 2025 held at Warwick University.

Girls aged Under 8 to Under 18 had to qualify via two online rounds since October 2025; Ismini (first round) and Enyo (Semi Finals).

Therefore, it was a great achievement for all girls to make the finals!

The tournament was played in an excellent spirit, with girls socialising between games and plenty of hard fought chess on the board.

The £1000 prize pot was shared by 4 girls, who all won their sections with 5 wins from all 5 games;

Mary Cawdery, Lam Vy Nguyen, Elis Denele Dicen and Emma Hng.

Therefore, each girl wins £250. Well done to each of them!

Trophies were given for top 3 girls in each section, which were beautiful glass trophies.

Congratulations to all the girls for taking part and putting their best efforts in!