Play With Pride!

June has come—and with it, Pride Month!
To all our members: whether LGBTQIA+, ally, curious learner, or just one who wishes to pay tribute to the beauty of diversity, you are welcome. Pride Month is one to celebrate, remember, stand in solidarity with, and be visible. It's one of celebrating love in all its hues, fighting for equality, and acknowledging the long and ongoing battle for LGBTQIA+ rights across the world.

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♟ Why Do We Honor Pride Month in June?

Pride Month is commemorated in June to celebrate the Stonewall Uprising, a moment of LGBTQIA+ history. On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, was raided by police. Raids were unfortunately a common occurrence, but on this night, patrons—many of whom were transgender women, drag queens, and queer people of color—fought back. The result was six days of resistance and protest.
Activists like Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans activist, and Sylvia Rivera, a Latinx trans woman, were crucial to the uprising. These acts helped lead to the start of the modern LGBTQIA+ rights movement, the creation of support groups, and, a year later, the very first Christopher Street Liberation Day March, which is now considered the first Pride parade.
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What Is Pride?
Pride is more than parades and rainbows—it is:

Visibility: LGBTQIA+ people have had to hide who they are. Pride honors coming out, being seen, and being oneself.

Resistance: It marks the history of protest, fights for legal and social justice, and the resilience of an oppressed people.

Community: Pride Month brings people together in community celebration, spaces of acceptance and support.

Love: basically, about having the freedom to love anyone you wish and be yourself without fear.

All colors of the original 1978 Pride flag designed by Gilbert Baker were meaningful:

❤️ Red – Life
 🧡 Orange – Healing
 💛 Yellow – Sunlight
 💚 Green – Nature
 💙 Blue – Harmony
 💜 Violet – Spirit

Now there are more inclusive versions of the flag today—such as the Progress Pride Flag—that also have stripes for trans people, people of color, and others who are often further marginalized. 
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Pride in the Chess World
Chess is for everybody. Chess communities have not always been welcoming spaces in the past, but that is changing. Across the globe, LGBTQIA+ chess players, streamers, and clubs are making themselves heard and their identities visible.
Chess.com itself has been in support of Pride Month with themed events and even hosted LGBTQ+ Arena tournaments. There are LGBTQ+-run and LGBTQ+-chess clubs, demonstrating that strategy and self-expression need not be mutually exclusive.
In our own club, we stand for inclusion. That means:
 ✔️ Respecting pronouns
 ✔️ Supporting players regardless of gender or orientation
 ✔️ Uplifting one another
 ✔️ Saying clearly: hate has no home here

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❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
 This June, let’s play with pride.
 Happy Pride Month from all of us at Shining Smiles.
 Let love, inclusivity, and strategy guide your every move—on and off the board.
 🏳️‍🌈♟️ #PrideMonth #ChessIsForEveryone #LoveIsLove #ShiningSmiles