“I didn’t want to deal with it.” Chess champion Dorsa Derakhshani, 19, of Iran studies chemistry in the Grand Hall dining area at Saint Louis University on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2015.

Today in Saint Louis, Mo., one woman will take on 30 opponents in a simultaneous chess exhibition. DORSA DERAKHSHANI: I'm supposed to get white, which white starts first in chess. So I already ...