The Palawan–Albay Queens' Gambit is a professional chess club which plays in the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) associated with the provinces of Palawan and Albay. It is noted for having an all-female roster in a professional league where most players are male.
History
The Palawan Queens' Gambit was formed as a representative team of the province of Palawan at the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP), the first professional chess league in the Philippines. Owned by Palawan-based businessman, Jojo Mitra they formed an all-female team, and deliberately picked female players at the inaugural PCAP draft.[1][2] Palawan employed Susan Neri, daughter of an Aklan-based national master and international arbiter, as their coach who got enticed with the idea of mentoring an all-female team.[3]
By the Open Conference of the 2022 PCAP season, the team's name was changed to the Palawan–Albay Queens' Gambit.[4]
Roster
The following is the Palawan–Albay Queens' Gambit roster for the 2021 PCAP season.
The Palawan–Albay Queens' Gambit is named after the Netflix series, The Queen's Gambit which features a female protagonist.[5] The team features an all-female lineup as a means to give more opportunities for women in the Philippines to play competitive chess.[1]
