First prize, grading prize...how boring ! There should be a prize for the best looking lady at the tournament...
Really? Lol. Dunno if that would inspire women.
Maybe more female oriented prizes though. Or combine chess with some sort of dance or themed event.
Treat men and women as equals. Don't condescend to women by providing flowers or "dance" themed events. Try to avoid the subtle (or not so subtle!) messages sent to young girls and boys that push boys in one direction and girls in another.
That's all.
attractive men
Why is there a need to attract more women into chess?
If we were attractive to women, we would have better things to do, too.
Most of the threads that deal with these are intentionally incendiary. I thought it would be worthwhile to put some common sense into the mix...
Here are my thoughts:
Chess tournament venues are often dour affairs. Church halls, school rooms etc Environments not female friendly. How hard would it be for organisers to put up some net curtains and a few vases of fresh flowers around the venue ?
Stopping men oggling women chess players. The excuse that it is "natural" no longer washes. I suggest an extra arbiter to deal with this.
Whatever happened to "ladies first ?" A simple easy idea would be for ladies always to have the white pieces. When one lady is playing another the fattest should go first. Some scales brought by the organiser to the event - no big deal.
First prize, grading prize...how boring ! There should be a prize for the best looking lady at the tournament...
I hope this topic isn't hijacked with the usual silliness that surround this subject. Let's be constructive for a change.
So far, these ideas are creative enough for initial attraction :P
Some of competitive girls wouldn't like the idea of "ladies move first", cause it seems underestimate them, but for the part of promotional action to amateurs (or beginners), it stills ok.
Women want to be oggled. But only by attractive men. You actually want to try and attract good looking men into chess. But they're too busy getting with the attractive girls. You will never succeed. Chess is a diversion for unattractive people.
Those suggestions are pretty bad...I don't know if you were being sarcastic when you said you didn't want to be "intentionally incendiary," or if you just haven't spoken to many actual women before.
1. Have you ever seen a person walk into a chess tournament, look around and say "this decor is too dour!" before storming out? What about a woman who, having expressed no interest in chess, admitted she would go to a chess tournament if the club has curtains and flowers? If a woman likes to play chess, she's going to go a tournament to play chess. If she doesn't play, she's not going to be convinced by a ladylike atmosphere.
2. I'm going to take your second and fourth suggestions together, because they're basically two sides of the same coin. Women don't go to chess tournaments to be ogled, or to show off how attractive they are. They are there to play. Why would anyone want to turn a tournament into a beauty pageant? "Well, I'm awful at chess, but maybe I'll get best dress!" said nobody. We're there because we're chess players, not decorations.
3. Lady Catrina is right about your "ladies first" idea - that's just a way of saying you automatically assume we're not as good, and therefore need a boost. It's also unfair to men. Plus it's not real chess - if you don't know how to play both sides of the board, get out. Your comment about fatness is what really made me think this was a joke because it's so ridiculous and horribly tone-deaf.
Women will play chess when: 1) you teach your daughters to play at a young age, the same as boys are. 2) when you treat them as you would treat any other opponent in a competitive setting. Be respectful, and play the hell out of the board.
If the men wore masks it may attract more women 
This looks like another version of, "if I insult her, she'll go out with me to prove me wrong." If she has a brain, it's not going to fly. We're not there to impress you...and "pretending" isn't going to entice anyone to show up.
I think if men pretend that women cant play good chess, then a lot of women would feel the need to prove themselves.
It is simple advice using reversal psychology, and can be one factor that drive us to compete. Of course it still depends on other factors. For me personally, i dont have any interest to be a professional chess players cause sometimes i think the game is impractical in daily life. I imagined that instead of using my time to study chess, i can earn more money if i study accounting or law (or programming, etc).
If in the future, the prize money can increase significantly, let's say similar in tennis, i am sure many girls will put more effort on chess cause the chess skill already has practical value in daily life.
Apart from pragmatic things, i know some female pro players that do not like to train with chess engines, but prefer to study from books. Some female players think that chess engines kill the emotional aspect of the game, and makes them feel like robot. I agree with this thought, but i also aware that the use of engines (for training) can boost chess players' achivement, faster than chess books. So maybe this also contributes to the unpopularity of chess among us.
I think getting girls into chess along with the boys at an early age will help accomplish this. When I show up to tournaments I notice a lot more girls than I used to. I would like to see some stats for the % of females for every 5 years going back 50 years or so.
If the guys took more showers before the tourney, and the playing halls weren't so tight, crowded, and hot. Perfume alone can't cover up the smell.
Shaving, and fashion upgrades might help as well.
But don't hold your breath, waiting.
This looks like another version of, "if I insult her, she'll go out with me to prove me wrong." If she has a brain, it's not going to fly. We're not there to impress you...and "pretending" isn't going to entice anyone to show up.
For adult female, you are totally right "sixtyeightrooks", we dont need to impress anyone. But for the case of little girls, this reversal psychology might be still work, at least to attract their attention first to this game.
Girls may like speed chess.
*like speed dating*
(I'm not talking from experience)
Most of the threads that deal with these are intentionally incendiary. I thought it would be worthwhile to put some common sense into the mix...
Here are my thoughts:
Chess tournament venues are often dour affairs. Church halls, school rooms etc Environments not female friendly. How hard would it be for organisers to put up some net curtains and a few vases of fresh flowers around the venue ?
Stopping men oggling women chess players. The excuse that it is "natural" no longer washes. I suggest an extra arbiter to deal with this.
Whatever happened to "ladies first ?" A simple easy idea would be for ladies always to have the white pieces. When one lady is playing another the fattest should go first. Some scales brought by the organiser to the event - no big deal.
First prize, grading prize...how boring ! There should be a prize for the best looking lady at the tournament...
I hope this topic isn't hijacked with the usual silliness that surround this subject. Let's be constructive for a change.