Chess champion aims to inspire girls with her win

Kata Toma became the first woman to win the Worcestershire Chess Championships

A female chess champion says she hopes her success will inspire more girls to get into the game.

Former English Women's Chess Champion Kata Toma said she wanted young girls to see there "is a place for them" in the community.

The 39-year-old grandmaster from Birmingham said she first got into the game in her native Poland, where there is a "much higher" number of girls who play.

"If we show them the path for the youngsters [here], then they will follow," she said.

Ms Toma became the first woman to win the Worcestershire Chess Championships, beating defending champion Joe Friar in a tie break on 24 August.

She was taught to play by her aunt in Poland before being identified as a junior talent by the country's chess association.

Ms Toma went on play for England after moving to the country 10 years ago and was awarded the woman grandmaster title by the International Chess Federation in 2011.

"I was identified as a chess talent when I was a kid but my success has come from loads of work, lots of training, lots of playing in tournaments," she said.

"It takes a lot of hours on the game and on the board.

"Talent helps but it doesn't work on its own."

Ms Toma said to wanted to inspire young girls to follow her into the sport

Ms Toma said she hoped her success could show girls that there is a place for women in the chess community.

"We try to advocate for women in the game - we try to make it more women and more girl friendly," she said.

"It's not the easiest thing to do but there is some progress in the past few years."

While at the tournament, Ms Toma said she spoke to a competitor who said his five-year-old daughter asked to learn the rules having seen Ms Toma perform.

"This will help get the younger generation into chess because they can see that there is a place for them," she said.