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Rouda Alserkal: The teen who rewrote UAE chess history
A bronze medallist in the Asian Championship and a gold medallist in the Asian Schools Championship, wants to keep improving her game to make more history in the sport
- PUBLISHED: Thu 4 Dec 2025, 3:48 PM
Rouda Alserkal always knew that it would never be easy to chase her dream of becoming a top chess player. But she was determined to overcome all the obstacles. Rigorous training, balancing the sport with studies, and sacrificing ‘her childhood’, Rouda did all that and more to become a part of the Emirati folklore.
The 16-year-old girl from Abu Dhabi eventually broke the glass ceiling, becoming the first Woman Grandmaster of the UAE and the Gulf region.
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Having reached a major milestone so early in her career, Rouda made her debut at elite events in Norway and Romania.
But the rising star is refusing to get carried away.
“Obviously, with the title comes a lot of responsibility. This means I have to train 10 times harder; I have to keep up the grind. I have more goals to achieve, more tournaments to win, and more rating to gain,” Rouda told Reuters.
“Of course, it's very stressful. Especially when I go to big tournaments, like the World Championship. Recently, I was playing the World Cup, and I was the only Emirati who was playing there.”
Rouda, who is happy to be a trendsetter in a sport dominated by men, especially in the Gulf region, is aware of the enormity of the responsibility on her shoulders.
“People are always going to say something. I remember there was this (social media) post about me, congratulating me for being the first woman grandmaster from the UAE. And I was looking at the comments, and everyone was talking about everything else about me, not the chess,” she said.
“I'm putting my best into this game, and people just can't see it, and they're just focusing on everything else: my looks, the fact that I don't wear a hijab.
This is not what I'm trying to show the media. I'm trying to show them that I'm an Emirati woman; I'm a 16-year-old, and I have accomplished a lot. I've made a name for myself. People are just focusing on the wrong stuff, and this is never going to stop, obviously. I just have to ignore it completely and focus on what's important, which is me playing chess.”
Rouda, who first started playing the sport at the age of four with her parents and sisters, says her heart swells with pride when she sees the growing number of young chess players in the UAE now.
“When I first joined the chess club, there weren't a lot of people. But later on, I think when I first started winning, so many kids started joining,” she said.
“And I remember, I would be walking around, and people were like: Oh, you're Rouda. Oh, I've heard a lot about you. We joined the chess club because we wanted to see you.
“This means a lot to me; it makes me really proud. I just really hope that we can see more UAE players, UAE women, more talents, more tournaments. It's such an honour. I'm really happy that many kids look up to me, many girls look up to me. But as I said, it can be very stressful sometimes, trying to just give the perfect picture. Because no one's perfect; everyone has their flaws.”
While no one is perfect, Rouda, a bronze medallist in the Asian Championship and a gold medallist in the Asian Schools Championship, wants to keep improving her game to make more history in the sport.
“I want to continue improving and eventually earn my Grandmaster title,” she had told Khaleej Times early this year.
“Competing in top tournaments against elite players is a challenge I look forward to. Winning more championships is definitely on my radar, but right now, I’m focused on growing as a player and seeing how far I can take my chess career."
Rituraj Borkakoty is Sports Editor and has spent more than two decades writing on his sporting heroes. He also loves an underdog story, so if you have one, share it with him. He would love to bring it to life.