Lisa Lane, a Philadelphia native and a chess star who was a two-time United States women’s champion, died on February 28 aged 90, writes Dylan Loeb McClain for The New York Times.

Lane was also the first chess player to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

She was in her first year at Temple University when she noticed students playing chess in the lounge. She immediately fell in love with the game and began playing as often as she could. Within two years, she won her first United States women’s championship.

The win put her into the spotlight, in part due to her late start with the game and her meteoric rise, and partly due to her youth and appearance.

But she was unhappy about the earning disparity between male and female chess players.

“I’m the most important American chess player,” she said at the height of her fame in 1961. “People will be attracted to the game by a young, pretty girl. That’s why chess should support me. I’m bringing it publicity, and ultimately, money.”

She tried to effect change, but after her attempts failed, she quit competitive chess.

Read more about the life of Philadelphia native Lisa Lane, the first chess player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, in The New York Times.

________