Men mocked a woman during a game of street chess — they had no idea she was a professional player

Women from all walks of life have to battle gender stereotypes and misogyny everywhere they go. It is usual for men to look down on women, especially when it comes to sports. A similar situation unfolded as Jules (@julesgambit), a professional chess player, played a game on the streets. As a U.S. Women’s Top 100 and former child athlete, it was an easy play for her, unbeknownst to the man sitting across her. Flaunting her win, Jules shared her winning moment on TikTok, garnering 5.2 million views and nearly a million likes. 

In the first few seconds of the clip, Jules calmly assesses her game while her opponent, an elderly man, celebrates as he gets one of her chess pieces. The man gets up on his feet and waves his hands in joy. Surrounded by men, an unbothered Jules barely reacts to her opponent’s hand gesture that indicated the game was over. When she moves another chess piece, the man aggressively knocks it off the board and even taps the timer with force. “Yes!” he yells in the moments leading up to Jules’ final play. While the man is busy gloating, she swiftly takes off his queen and celebrates her victory with a chef’s kiss. As per Scoop Upworthy, the dejected man could be seen walking off in shame. “When they think you can’t play because you’re wearing bows…” Jules' text overlay read. 

Noting her opponent’s reaction, she wrote in the caption, “The ending though.” Not only did the chess player impress the bystanders, but also most on the internet with her calm composure. A viewer (@pinhead68) wrote, “Destroying arrogance is awesome,” while another (@the.lone.wolf) noted, “Ego loses every time.” A fellow TikTok user (@mini.pepes.window) lauded, “I only watched this 100 times...better than Queen's Gambit.” @rendoaki expressed, “This is the kind of flex I need to acquire.” @art.ofmeri added, “Her expression when she immediately saw the move to win! Iconic.” 

Others mocked the man’s aggressive reactions, calling him 'too emotional' to play the game. A netizen (@the.christine) pointed out, "Old men are often cocky and condescending and throw tantrums, so seeing them lose a game they were so aggressive about, to a woman they underestimated, is peak entertainment."

Jules shared her long journey with chess in an elaborate post on X (formerly Twitter). In December 2024, she disclosed that after her amateur stint, she had quit the game. When she began playing again at 21, almost a decade later, without any international rating, she worked her way to the national rankings and had an international rating of 1850. However, she was not able to compete as extensively. So, she kept herself 'sharp' and 'motivated' by studying and watching games. “Getting better at chess can be done at any age; all that matters is your hunger and passion,” she explained. 

You can follow @julesgambit on TikTok and X for more updates.