Chess gender gap

Men are much more successful in chess. There are only 37 women GMs in the world, compared to 1683 men. Top ranked chess players had been giving statements on biological, inherent and innate differences between male and female chess players until recently. “I guess they’re just not so smart,” world champion Bobby Fischer said in 1962. “Chess is not for women. … Women are weaker fighters,” world champion Garry Kasparov said in 1989. “Men are hardwired to be better chess players than women, you have to gracefully accept that”, vice president of the World chess federation FIDE and grandmaster Nigel Short said in 2015. Most of them nowadays choose words differently after being beaten by Judit Polgar or some other women top player but chess ‘government’ is still owned by men who use biology to defend hierarchy.

Top female also chess players face a particularly hostile environment, leading them to drop out in higher proportions than lower-ranked women. Chess is still a men’s world and when men feel their privileges are endangered they put pressure on ladies because those resources invested in women could have been invested in them.

Remember that character is built by the age of six, and personality is developed throughout life. If you raise girls that their life role is to take care of others and not to compete and fight, to wait for their prince on the white horse while taking care of how they look, it affects more than girls can overcome later. After the birth girls are mostly gifted with dolls, toy sets with make-up, toy pots, pans, utensils, cutlery, household items, gardening etc. It is very important for a three-old girl to learn how to make tea for her baby dolls it seems. Better buy them chess sets and puzzles, not hair brushes. Boys are usually gifted with toy guns, superheroes, sport items like balls and baseball bats and sometimes chess sets. Now we see why some psychology studies show that very young children already internalize beliefs that men are more brilliant than women.

Men’s testosterone is partially responsible for their ‘killer instinct’ but upbringing is the most likely reason why ladies embody Eros while men embody Tanathos. Desire for every man to become an alpha-male also gives a head start to boys. It is noticed that men are more willing to sacrifice pieces, take risks and attack. Generally speaking, women are more family-oriented; guys are allowed to be more focused and dedicated but girls are more for socializing.

Statistic factor beats biology, way more men play chess than women. On the FIDE rating list, out of the players who had played in 2019, only 10.1 percent were female; in the United States, this number was 8.2 percent. That’s called the participation gap.

The participation gap can’t fully explain why there are not more women with top rankings. Social, cultural, and economic factors are also responsible for the gender gap. National federations invest less in female top players than in their male counterparts in terms of training and sponsorship. It is easier for male players to live from chess. Among chess players with children women are more burdened with childcare responsibilities than men and therefore have less time to play and prepare for tournaments. Top players can become victims of a stereotypical threat (where a member of a negative stereotypical group lags behind due to pressure or anxiety caused by a stereotype). Stereotype threat is where minorities would underperform solely because they’re aware of a stereotype that people of their group do worse. Confidence flags, interest wanes and a vicious cycle of self-fulfilling prophesy follows. We should have in mind that geniuses are created, not being born.

The Pygmalion effect is a psychological phenomenon wherein high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area. The flipside is the Golem effect wherein low expectations lead to decreased performance. Seems like if we keep making systemic changes and support women that will lead to reducing the gender gap in chess.

Money too tight to mention. We have already mentioned lack of role models, lack of financial security and male gatekeepers in chess bodies but an overwhelming pay gap in the sport is further deterrent. Ju Wenjun won €500,000 after she won the 2018 women’s World Chess Championship. Magnus Carlsen won €1 million for winning the “main" Championship.

Trivia or not: Women are cagier than men. It is hard for a female chess player to find female practice partners. Guys all the time work with each other, play with each other… but there is not that much camaraderie among women. It would be nice if women didn't have to ask for support from women, just as they have to ask for support from men.