PinkPantheress is honestly one of the truly great British mavericks. Never has an artist taken me by such grip with her sheer randomness – a never-ending peeling onion of fascinating layers. Her music has always been intriguing, but it’s been within the past two years when she truly leant into the most authentic Y2K aesthetic found in music that she’s become captivating. Not only that, but this year her funny and fascinating ways have reached new heights. She’s always up to a side quest. She’s naming correctly a load of niche bugs on TikTok. She’s turning random fellas away from her house party. She’s going viral – and now she’s done just that by announcing she’s won a chess grand slam. No really. But the fascinating side of this is the lore behind why PinkPantheress is so good at chess and it’s all in her fascinating family history.
Being good at music is her gift to the world, but being amazing at chess is in her genetics…
Checkmate
i don’t mention the chess lineage that runs in my family enough girl
— pinkpantheress (@pinkpantheress2) July 3, 2025
PinkPantheress has gone viral AGAIN after posting pictures of her winning a chess tournament and saying “did my big one” as she bagged the under 25s tournament trophy. She then said “I don’t talk about the chess lineage that runs through my family enough.”
The competition was in Bromley, where PinkPantheress – real name Victoria Beverley Walker – won the under 25s Grand Slam. But this is no fluke: PinkPantheress is the niece of Susan Lalic – one of the most accomplished chess players in the UK. No, this is not made up. This is all truth.
PinkPantheress also said in a Reddit AMA that if she wasn’t a music artist she’d be a pro chess player. I see it for her.
Who is Susan Lalic!?
PinkPantheress’ auntie Susan Lalic is both a Woman’s Grandmaster title holder and the International Master, which she won in 1985 and 1996 respectively. Born in Kent in 1965, Susan dominated British women’s chess in the 80s and 90s, snatching five national titles and representing England at nine Chess Olympiads. She played top board for over a decade.
When she won International Master, Lalic was one of only a handful of women to do so at the time. Her peak rating? A terrifying 2405. For context, that’s higher than 99.9% of chess players on Earth. She’s known for her calm, classical style of gameplay. She’s been married to three different chess masters and she currently spends a lot of her time junior coaching.
Need to meet her at a Pink gig ASAP.
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