Maili-Jade Ouellet (Law and Civilization, 2021) is Canada’s best female chess player and ranked among the top 100 women in the world.

In 2020, while still a cegep student, Ouellet achieved the title of Woman Grandmaster after winning the American Continental Women’s Championship in Mexico.

An avid chess player from the age of five, Ouellet’s natural aptitude and work ethic propelled her to start winning tournaments from a very young age. She won the Women’s Canadian Chess Championship in high school and began to make a name for herself internationally.

“I’m very competitive, so it feels nice to be dominating in Canada,” she said. “In terms of Canadian women’s ratings, I am dominating by at least 100 points over the next person behind me.”

Ouellet said her success has driven her to aim higher and push herself further, as she has represented Canada four times at the Chess Olympiad.

“Those are great honours, it’s prestigious and I am proud of it. It’s giving me more experiences to grow, and I value that a lot,” she said.

Ouellet is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Master of Science in Healthcare Leadership and Management at the University of Texas at Dallas. She said her skills as a chess player benefit her in other aspects of her life as well.

“I’ve always been good at planning and making decisions. The chess experience helps because I know how to handle time pressure and thinking moves ahead. It helps me in everyday life and I have a good memory, a good memory helps in everything, actually.”

Despite her incredible success as a chess player and securing the title of Woman Grandmaster in 2020, Ouellet was not planning on becoming a professional chess player. Instead, upon graduating from Champlain Saint-Lambert, she planned to study law at Université de Montréal and already had accepted her offer of admission when a surprising offer came her way.

Someone from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley reached out offering Ouellet a full ride scholarship to come play chess competitively.

“The conditions seemed really nice, and it seemed like a good experience. And it was a way for me to pursue a chess career,” she said.

Ouellet decided to accept the offer and move to Texas, putting her law degree on hold.

“It’s very hard to make a living out of just playing chess competitively. Since chess is not so valued in Canada, most people don’t go pro. Maybe the top 30 players in the world can make a living off of just chess and otherwise people need to teach.”

While completing a bachelor’s degree in business management, Ouellet attended several tournaments and competitions each month, a significant time investment given that some tournaments last 10 days and many are held in far-flung countries such as India, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Ouellet’s new goal is to achieve the title of International Master, a step above the Woman Grandmaster in ranking.

“There are four requirements, and I have met three of them,” she explained.

At the age of 23, Ouellet is far from done when it comes to achieving her goals.

“I would be the first female International Master in Canada. If you really put your mind to it, it’s achievable. You just need really strong work ethic. I’ll be satisfied professionally speaking with the international title.”

Ouellet’s advice for current students and recent grads: “Be organized. Do what you love. Have balance in your life. Balance is important – it makes it easier to do what you love and follow your dreams. You give yourself a better chance to make it happen.”