After years of playing with pawns and bishops, the reigning queen of US chess finds herself in the biggest stalemate of her career.

Nazi Paikidze, 22, shook up the chess world over the weekend when the US women’s champion announced she’s boycotting the Women’s World Chess Championship in Iran in February instead of complying with the country’s law that women cover up with a hijab. The Russian-born star, who now lives in Las Vegas, told The Post she won’t budge unless FIDE — the world chess federation — moves the competition to a “no-conflict” zone or makes wearing the hijab optional.

“I would be honored and proud to represent the USA,” Paikidze wrote The Post in an email. “As one of only 64 players in the world to have qualified, you can understand how important the competition is for me. I’ve been trying to qualify since I was 16 and for the first time, I’ve achieved this goal. I am very saddened that I have to miss it, as much as I want to play, [but] it feels immoral to do so and goes against my core principles.”

Paikidze said she strongly disagrees with FIDE’s decision to make female players choose between “surrendering their rights” and skipping a key tournament in the game they love. There’s also the active travel warning from the US State Department on travel to Iran that has Paikidze concerned.

“According to FIDE’s handbook, the guiding moral principle is that they reject discrimination of any kind,” Paikidze wrote The Post. “Iran has laws that are only for women, one of them being forced hijab, which is gender discrimination. Also, several countries, including US, Canada, UK have issued travel warning to Iran — political discrimination.”

Gary Walters, president of the US Chess Federation, told The Post the organization is now hoping to get some clarity from Iranian officials within weeks on whether female players will indeed be expected to wear hijabs.

“It’s my general understanding that there’s a general requirement that one wears a hijab when outdoors, whether or not that’s going to be enforced on the ladies playing in the world championship, I don’t know,” Walters said. “It may turn out that the Iranian authorities cannot change that. I have not heard anything official yet from FIDE or Iran. We are writing to FIDE as we speak for clarification.”

Walters said many people in the chess community were caught off guard when FIDE named Iran as the host nation, citing the travel warning for Americans and potential issues for foreign players. But regardless of what Paikidze ultimately decides to do, Walters said he “steadfastly respects” her decision.

“In my opinion, I would prefer that she wait a little longer as we await clarification, but there’s probably enough facts in front of her to make that decision and we completely respect that decision,” he told The Post. “We think there should be accommodations for foreign players.”

Still, Walters said he’s “not confident” that accommodations or exceptions will be made to modesty laws put in place in Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“And only after they decide one way or another will we decide to take further action,” he said. “But we absolutely support Nazi. Women should not be oppressed for cultural, religious or ethnic reasons.”

Susan Polgar, co-chair of FIDE’s Commission for Women’s Chess, confirmed that the organization is working with Iranian organizers to try to find a “solution so all the qualifiers can compete” in Tehran in February.

“But I am of the position that each woman should decide what she wants to do,” Polgar wrote The Post in an email. “If a female player wants to boycott this event then it is her right. However, if others want to play and have no problem with it, it is also their right.”

Iran was the only country that made a proposal to host the event, according to a statement by FIDE officials, so the organization accepted the proposal after no objections were made by the delegates of the 159 national chess federations. The statement also cited two international events previously held in Iran without incident or formal complaints, including a tournament in Tehran.

“There were no complaints from the players or officials and everybody respected the laws of the country, including the dress requirements,” the statement read. “At this point in time, there have been no official complaint to FIDE from any player who is eligible to participate in the Women’s World Championship 2017.”

The statement also noted that it’s not a “FIDE regulation or requirement” that players wear hijabs during the event, suggesting that players refer to local laws or regulations.

“FIDE is nevertheless reviewing all possible solutions for the players’ comfort and will discuss all the issues with the organizers in Iran during meetings in the next few weeks,” the statement concluded.

Meantime, Paikidze said she’s received “thousands” of supportive messages from strangers around the world supporting her stance.

“It means the world to me,” she wrote The Post. “Of course not everyone agrees with me and I have received some hurtful even threatening messages. But I respect all different opinions; everyone is entitled to their own point of view. I would just like to say: share you opinion without violence.”

Paikidze’s husband, Greg Barnes, told The Post he’s proud of his “brave” wife for standing up for what she believes in.

“Rather than accepting something that she felt was wrong, she took a powerful stance, created a petition, and garnered support from all over the world (all in just a few days),” Barnes wrote in an email. “I’m sad that she will not have the chance to go after the World Championship title in 2017, but if I know her, she will be fighting for it soon enough.”

British grandmaster Nigel Short has also supported Paikidze’s stance, sharing her petition online and encouraging his nearly 20,000 Twitter followers to sign it. As of Thursday, more than 4,900 people have signed the online petition protesting Iran’s dress and speech restrictions for women.

“These are just some of the many potential dangers faced by players who have qualified to compete in the World Championship,” the petition reads. “These women are being asked to choose between achieving their greatest aspirations and protecting their civil liberties — and their lives.”

Paikidze, whose Georgian first name means “tender” or “delicate,” said she practices up to six hours a day before tournaments, honing her craft to compete with the best players in the world. She’s hopeful it won’t come to it, but she’s ready to stand firm on her decision not to “surrender” her rights in order to compete on the game’s highest level, she told The Post.

“I do not believe we should have to choose one or the other,” Paikidze wrote.