Lisa Lane

Lisa Lane is a pioneer in the development of women’s chess in the United States. A latecomer to the game, who only started playing in her late teens, Lane made rapid progress and within two years of learning the rules had earned the title of expert and won the 1959 U.S. Women’s Championship. She would go on to represent the United States in two Women’s Interzonals, a Women’s Olympiad, and win another U.S. Women’s Championship, tying for first with Gisela Gresser in 1966. Lane’s accomplishments attracted media attention to the game, and she was the first chess figure to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated in August of 1961.