UAE's first female chess grandmaster Rouda Al Serkal proves ‘anything is possible' for Emirati youth

Al Etihad

23-06-2025

24 June 2025 00:15
AMEINAH ALZEYOUDI (ABU DHABI)At just 15, Rouda Al Serkal has earned global recognition as a two-time world chess champion and made history as the first Emirati female to achieve the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM). Her journey to this milestone — achieved after winning the Arab Women's Championship at the Sharjah Cultural Chess Club — has been shaped by talent, determination, and the support of both her family and her country.When she was only 4 years old, she began playing with her father, Essa Alserkal, and other family members before joining the Abu Dhabi Chess Club. By the age of five, she had already shown serious potential.
'Chess was a very fun thing for me when I was a kid, and I enjoyed every part of it,' she said in an interview with Aletihad . Her rise since then has been steady and impressive, with a collection of local and international wins that include the U-20 UAE Championship, World Cadets Under-8 title in 2017, World Schools Under-9 in 2018, a bronze medal at the Asian Youth Under-14, the Jeddah Open Tournament and multiple Arab Women's Champion titles. She also won the World Championship in the Solving Puzzles Category C and the West Asian title.Now a woman grandmaster, Rouda joins Salem Abdulrahman as one of only two players from the UAE to hold the grandmaster title. But her achievements have not come without challenges.'There was a lot of hard work there, a lot of sacrifices made,' she said. 'One of the hardest parts was the pressure — from the club, from tournaments, from players around me — because they had high expectations of me. It's pretty stressful dealing with it at such a young age.'Despite the pressure, Rouda has found ways to stay grounded, though balancing school and chess hasn't always been smooth.'Back in middle school, it was manageable. But now that I'm in high school, it's honestly not that easy,' she admitted.Rouda's daily routine reflects the discipline of a champion. She returns home from school at 3:30pm, takes a short break, then heads to the chess club from 4:30 to 8pm before starting her homework.'When I'm travelling for tournaments, it gets even harder. Sometimes I come back and have exams straight away,' she said, admitting she's still figuring out the routine that works best for her.Still, Rouda looks back at the challenges with pride. 'It wasn't easy dealing with this, but I don't regret any bit of it. I'm very happy that I had to go through those hardships, and I finally reached my dream.'As one of the most memorable milestones in her journey, Rouda highlighted the recent meeting with President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Although this was her third meeting with the UAE President, it held special significance.'It was actually my third time meeting His Highness, but this one felt different. We sat down and talked for 15 minutes — it's a memory I will never forget. It was very inspiring. His Highness told me the UAE is very proud of my achievements, very proud of what I've done and encouraged me to keep working hard, both at school and in chess,' she recalled.With the support of the UAE's leadership for young Emiratis and athletes to pursue their dreams, Rouda hopes others will take that first step, no matter the challenge.
'Anything is possible,' she said confidently. 'It might be difficult, but it's never impossible. Whether you're 10 or 30, married or not, anything is possible. Our country and our leaders have always supported Emiratis and athletes to reach their dreams. With just a little bit of self-confidence, you can do whatever you want.'