There is no definitive evidence that Lucrezia Borgia was a chess champion. However, records show that she took private lessons from a figure who may have been one of the leading chess authorities of his time.
When Lucrezia arrived in Ferrara as duchess in 1502, she chose to learn the rules of chess, a popular pastime at the Este court. In 1506, financial records document the appointment of a personal teacher identified as “Maestro Francesco Spagnolo.”
According to chess historian Alessandro Sanvito, that name referred to Francesch Vicent, a Valencian exile who had published the first treatise on the rules of modern chess in 1495.
Vicent’s work focused especially on the Queen. Until a few decades earlier, the piece had been restricted to a single move at a time. The newer form of the game allowed the queen to move freely in every direction, making it the most powerful piece on the board.
That transformation has also been interpreted as reflecting the changing political landscape of Europe, where the influence of women such as Isabella of Castile, Catherine de’ Medici and Elizabeth I of England was growing.
Sources: Focus.it.