World of Chess Taken By a New Kind of Queen

Chess, traditionally the preserve of men in tweed jackets, computers and maverick legends in Iceland, is finally appealing to the lowest common denominator.

A new website has decided to put looks before rooks, and invites users to rate the world's women chess players by their appearance rather than their playing skills.

The World Chess Beauty Contest, www.1wcbc.com, is the latest attempt to revamp the appeal of one of the world's most sedentary games, and is run by a group of male enthusiasts. The site was started earlier this year by Vladislav Tkachiev, 32, a grandmaster from Kazakhstan who is ranked 83rd in the world, to put some glamour into the game.

Their current No 1 is Vaness Reid, 16, an Australian who is ranked only 47,694th in the world for her chess-playing prowess.

Eighth on the list is the Serbian grandmaster Maria Manakova, who was among the top 20 women players in the 90s. She is pictured in the bath.