Ashley Lynn Priore Featured on Listen In With KNN: From the Chessboard to the Locker Room

Ashley Lynn Priore, Founder & CEO of Queenside Ventures and Queens Gambit, was recently featured on Listen In With KNN with host Kelsey Nicole Nelson in a conversation exploring the intersection of chess, sports, leadership, and performance.

The conversation centered on an idea that has shaped much of Ashley’s work over the last decade: chess is not just a game. It is a framework for decision-making.

In the episode and accompanying feature, “From the Chessboard to the Locker Room: How Ashley Lynn Priore Is Rewriting Sports Strategy,” Ashley shared how her experience as a competitive chess player evolved into a broader mission to help people think more strategically, communicate more clearly, and perform more effectively under pressure.

Ashley began playing chess at four years old and quickly became fascinated by more than competition itself. While many people described chess as making people “smarter,” she became interested in understanding what the game was actually training beneath the surface.

That curiosity eventually became the foundation for her work.

At fourteen, Ashley founded Queens Gambit after recognizing both the leadership potential of chess and the lack of access many young people, especially girls, had to the game.

Today, Queens Gambit serves more than 2,000 students annually through chess-based leadership programming designed to strengthen confidence, adaptability, critical thinking, and decision-making.

Over time, Ashley began asking a different question: If chess develops these skills so effectively, why are we limiting it to traditional chess spaces?

That question led to sports.

Through Queenside Ventures, Ashley now works with athletes, executives, and organizations to apply chess principles to leadership, mental performance, communication, and strategic decision-making.

The conversation highlighted why this work resonates in sports environments in particular. Athletes are constantly processing incomplete information, adapting in real time, anticipating outcomes, and making decisions under pressure. Those are not separate from chess. They are the same skills practiced through a different arena.

As Ashley shared during the interview: “Chess is the sport that helps teach and empower all other sports.”

The episode also explored a topic Ashley continues to advocate for nationally: Women’s chess is women’s sports.

As chess grows in visibility and influence, Ashley believes investment, representation, and recognition for women in the game must grow alongside it.

This feature reflects the broader mission behind Queenside Ventures: helping leaders, athletes, and organizations think more clearly, act more intentionally, and see the full board.

Listen to the full episode of Listen In With KNN and read the accompanying feature to learn more.