Women's chess in Australia

During the 1930s, women were encouraged to play chess because the sport was not seen as a bridge to gambling.

Most of the women in the study were middle class, conservative, Protestant and white.

The sport was tied with croquet, billiards, chess, fishing, field hockey, horse racing, squash, table tennis and shooting.

[6] As at January 2015, the following players are the top FIDE rated Australian female players:[7] Other top Australian female chess players, who are no longer regular tournament competitors, include Arianne Caoili (died 2020), Katrin Aladjova, Laura Moylan, Daniela Nutu-Gajic, and Ngan Phan-Koshnitsky.

The Australian Women's Chess Championship has not been held since 1999 due to lack of interest by the Australian Chess Federation and the top women players of the time.