“FIDE bans transgender women from competing in women’s chess events pending ‘further analysis’“

Should we start separating by birth gender?

Tenor and Lonnie, my reasoning for this is that we have prior evidence that this occurs. The famous case is Lia Thomas going from barely top 500 (468 I believe) men’s swimmer to top 3 women’s swimmer. 
Similarly, Serena and Venus Williams once challenged the 208th ranked men’s tennis player to a match and he won 6-0 and 6-1 respectively. 
In chess, the results would not be quite as drastic as going from 500th to first or 200th to first, but still, it is a legitimate concern that a merely great men’s chess player could become the best women’s chess player simply by changing gender, whether or not the change was legitimate or not.

I dont really know why this stuff has anything to do with the topic correct me if I'm wrong

So in the unlikely event that a top GM decides to stigmatise themselves, and accept less money for their efforts, the chess federation should spend two years banning average players who don't identify with their birth gender?

Seems legit???

Based move by FIDE

Chess wouldn't be too far off. There are almost 400 active male players in the world who could identify as female and immediately enter the top 3 women players.

There's also almost 2000 male players who would be in the top 50 women if they identified as female. It's only a matter of time before one of them does.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/fide-bans-transgender-women-from-competing-in-womens-chess-events-pending-further-analysis?sort=desc#comment-93402797

Great stats, but you can't just say I'm not the gender I was born into and that's it. There's a process for changing gender, if you actually live in a country that accepts it. I might identify against my birth gender, but it won't happen legally without medical and/or psychological support for example.

From the few people I know who have transitioned, the process is harrowing and often leads to mental issues such as anxiety. Not exactly the best scenario for a chess player.

The process for changing your gender is far simpler than the process for gaining multiple hundred spots on the FIDE rankings.

This is not what is happening.

Women-only tournaments are few and far between at the club level, and so this restriction should never affect the average player. An average transgender woman chess player will still be able to play in all tournaments as long as they are not FIDE-sponsored female-only tournaments. She would be able to participate in the corresponding FIDE-sponsored co-ed tournament and gain FIDE titles not beginning with a W. Should she be upset by that decision and publicly announce that she deserves to play in female-only FIDE tournaments and gain FIDE women’s titles, I would question the motives behind the transition.

The reason we are not seeing a women’s top 10 dominated by transgender women is relatively simple in my opinion.

There is no moral way to falsely transition (as in transition with no gender dysphoria) for the sole purpose of facing easier opponents and achieving far easier titles. They would be oppressed, and rightfully so. Not only would they be lying to the world, they would be lying in legal terms, oppressing women intentionally, making a mockery of those with gender dysphoria everywhere, and making a mockery of chess.

I fervently hope you see the issue with this statement: “Maybe because people only transition if they want to? … The only issue is whether someone has legally changed their gender, and if they have, then they are legally entitled to be considered the gender of their choice with all the rights that go with that.”

This poses a massive problem. If the only restriction for changing one’s gender is “you have to want to” then there should be ZERO legal reward for doing so, especially when doing so puts women at a disadvantage. This is akin to saying “I want to be a child” and being allowed to go back to primary school. Not only is it preposterous but it’s also quite potentially dangerous.

It is exactly what is happening. Club level trans players will be denied the right to play in Championship events. For many here in Australia, the zonal tournament represents a big chance to compete with your own gender at a regional level and it is open to all levels of players. Trans players won't be able to compete, nor in Continental Championships or Junior Championships. All these tournaments are currently open to all levels of players. It may be that they will be denied entry to national Championships, and we're then on a slippery slope towards total bans across FIDE rated events

Biologically male transwomen club players will be denied the right to play in female-only Championship events. If this tournament proves such a big opportunity for women to compete with their own gender across all levels of play, then competing with trans women poses a threat to the very idea of the tournament, as suddenly women may find themselves facing (and likely losing to) biologically male transwomen.

Transwomen will still be allowed to play in the co-ed Championships and compete with no restrictions, so there is no discrimination as they are not losing access to anything.

As for the ‘slippery slope’ thing, that’s merely speculation and nigh upon impossible at that.

What the....

I disagree. If one writes on their tax forms that they are below the poverty line in terms of income, they will pay less tax and acquire food stamps for free. This is not fair to everybody else who is paying the correct amount of tax and indirectly paying for that one person’s food stamps.

In the same manner, if someone who has a biologically male skill in chess or another sport says that they have a biologically female skill in the same sport, they will have easier opposition and will reap more rewards. This is not fair to every other biological male who is still playing fairly and also to the biological females, who are now losing money in terms of publicity and cash prizes by a biological male.

Society as a whole cannot and should not be forced to accommodate an incredibly small percentage of the population in any way which puts any other portion of the population at a disadvantage.

For the average population it’s correct. Men tend towards the 1% on both sides while women tend towards the 50 but if you picked 100 men and 100 women you should end up with very very similar average IQ.

I like your profile picture, by the way.

“FIDE bans transgender women from competing in women’s chess events pending ‘further analysis’“

Good!

No. Literally every single day of my life I see endless support for them. No other groups or people struggling. Just them.