Nonbinary Chess Club members gathering together
Nonbinary Chess Club

Friendship is
endgame.

The Chicago-based LGBTQIA chess club.

join the club

Upcoming activities

Nonbinary Chess Club collage artwork

Chess and Collage

A night of junk journaling.

Nonbinary Chess Club members around a chess board

Pawn Shop

A day playing chess, sipping mocktails and shopping on the farm.

Nonbinary Chess Club chess poster

Chess Tattoo Day

A day full of chess flash.

The Chicago-based LGBTQIA chess club where friendship is endgame.

Sensory-sensitive activations with LGBTQIA-friendly chess clubs, cafes, and venues worldwide.

Memberships

Join the club.

Choose the membership that fits where you are and how you want to connect with Nonbinary Chess Club.

Pass · 01

Local Membership

Membership for local members of Nonbinary Chess Club.

  • Free access to invite-only events that never reach the internet
  • Access to items sponsored by wishlist friends and companies that send chess gear to try
  • Newsletter access
  • Chicago and Worldwide LGBTQIA Chess WhatsApp

$15.00

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US-Based Membership

Membership for US-based members of Nonbinary Chess Club.

  • Seasonal postcards
  • First access to limited merch runs
  • US LGBTQIA chess travel guide
  • Invitations to virtual link-ups to learn chess from each other
  • Invitations to livestreams
  • Newsletter access
  • US-based LGBTQIA Chess WhatsApp

$25.00

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Abroad Membership

Membership for members abroad.

  • Seasonal postcards
  • First access to limited merch runs
  • Invitations to virtual link-ups
  • Invitations to livestreams
  • Newsletter access

$20.00

Attend an event and register to become a free member. Purchasing a membership helps sustain the club.

Founder

Donna Dante Marie Gary

Donna Dante Marie Gary is the founder of several social clubs and community activations as Dante’s Originals. Her collaborations include performance management and MC of Accessible Juneteenth; Salon de Poesía, sponsored by Blazed Bakery; and Dreaming in the Archive, sponsored by Dante’s Originals.

Her poetry work includes Drafting Empowerment and Write Like A River, sponsored by Access Living and SAIC Bodies of Work, plus Poet Party, a first-draft generative workshop series sponsored by Dante’s Originals.

Other collaborations include Live On The Roof with Dante’s Originals, Real Innovative Artists and The6ixCollective, and The Get Free Book Club featuring queer and disabled writers, sponsored by NYU Gallatin.

collaborate
Donna Dante Marie Gary, founder of Nonbinary Chess Club the founder

FAQ

Questions about attending, allyship, privacy and joining.

Nonbinary Chess Club welcomes all gender expressions as long as they respect and celebrate gender-free or gender-fluid individuals. We are anti-misogyny and only anti-binary when it is harmful to a fun, consensual chess experience. We believe people should be able to play without feeling self-conscious or concerned about gender as they play.

We ask that you check in with the host when boards are limited to make sure LGBTQIA players get a chance to learn, play, and sit. Please be open to ceding your seat so LGBTQIA players with fewer safe options than straight players get a chance to play with peers.

Join our WhatsApp waitlist. We have a channel for folks who are on the DL but want to play chess online together. We also added items to our wishlist to make streaming and virtual classes a reality, helping friends abroad experience Nonbinary Chess Club up close.

Attend one event and register to become a free member. If you attend and RSVP, we send you one-to-one invites as we launch new features, events, and club news. Purchasing a membership makes you a paid member and helps sustain the club by paying coaches, covering admin and outreach fees, and keeping the founder available for DMs, emails, and collaborations as the club grows.

Contact

Let’s play.

whatsapp waitlist newsletter

Bookings, events, memberships, collaborations or general questions.