https://www.chess.com/news/view/nakamura-wins-third-straight-title-in-gibraltar-playoff-7376
Includes an interview with Hou.
Petition to get Hou Yifan protest story on Chess.com FRONT PAGE
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That's not good enough; if anything that is more insulting. It appears to me that Hou is upset that women are not treated as equals in the chess world. To have her message tucked in underneath another story about how men dominate chess does nothing to help us bridge the equality gap. I'm not upset that Hikaru got a front page story for his win, because that is a big story as well, I just think that Hou is deserving of her own spot to further this conversation that chess players have been trying to avoid for a long time.
And I also don't think there is any accusation of cheating, but maybe I'm wrong about that. However, my uncertainty of what actually happened at the tournament is exactly why I would like to see better coverage.
Feb 5, 2017
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#5
I agree it should be the top story. After all, if her allegations are correct then it's a serious issue. On the other hand if she's wrong then she's making baseless allegations about the integrity of the organisers. That link posted earlier contains some interesting stuff, especially in the comments at the bottom, esp the post by 3dchess and also one from nakamura
Several people stated that they reran the computer pairings and there was nothing wrong. So unless someone finds a real basis, this appears to be like one of the periodic forum protests after someone gets black five times in a row- unusual but possible under the laws of probability.
There is a four minute interview with Hou in that article.
Feb 5, 2017
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#7
Moyer137 wrote:
That's not good enough; if anything that is more insulting. It appears to me that Hou is upset that women are not treated as equals in the chess world.
She was treated equally at the Gibraltar tournament. It's fairly common for GMs to complain about "unfair" pairings. Usually when they get as many as 2 blacks in a row (heh).
In her career specifically, she receives benefits due to her gender. She doesn't need you (or anyone) to advocate for her.
I agree she doesn't need me or anyone to advocate for her because she is trying to do that for herself; I actually really enjoyed and appreciated what she had to say and believe that she wasn't just making a statement about the machines but rather has a bigger message. What I am upset about is that Chess.com did not give her a feature, and that is it. Whether or not she is justified is something I will decide privately once I have all the information. What people think of my opinion on the matter is of zero importance. What people think of what the reigning world champion thinks on the matter is of tremendous importance, and I believe Chess.com, if anywhere, should be a platform available for her to speak.
Feb 5, 2017
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#9
Moyer137 wrote:
What people think of what the reigning world champion thinks on the matter is of tremendous importance, and
I don't think Carlsen's views on this - don't know if he has any - are all that important
She is acting like a prima donna and the whole chess world already knows it by now.
Moyer137 wrote: What I am upset about is that Chess.com did not give her a feature.. What people think of what the reigning world champion thinks on the matter is of tremendous importance, and I believe Chess.com, if anywhere, should be a platform available for her to speak.
Why is that? Chess.com is a business. How would running this story with a big headline help that business? What about the arbiters' side? You seem unconcerned with the truth or any journalistic obligation to remain impartial.
Chess.com does not allow cheating accusations in the forums, whether or not they have a basis in fact. The reason is that those discussions often devolve into flame wars (and they are worried about being sued.)
At this point, they have posted her allegations and a lengthy interview. I think they have given more than sufficient coverage.
If someone later finds some actual evidence, it can be revisited.
Chess.com has every right to choose which stories they cover and publish. I, as a supporting customer and member, am expressing what I would like to see out of our website. It is my hope that other people are interested (or will become interested if they didn't know about it) in the story, and that with enough interest it will incentivize Chess.com to publish a front page article.
Chess.com is my source for everything chess. Seeing a front page post on Hikaru winning another tournament is not news to me, and 9 times out of 10 I will not stop to read it; even if I were to have skimmed that article, I probably would have missed the coverage they gave Hou at the very bottom of the page. Honestly, if Chess.com were to have published a story on their front page, "Has she gone mental?", I probably would have checked it out and would have been enlightened to the situation. Had I not read the article from my mainstream news feed, I would not have even known who Hou Yifan is, which is funny because she is a world chess champion (and I'm an avid fan of chess). Similarly, without Chess.com, I wouldn't know who Hikaru Nakamura is, who Magnus Carlsen is, what the Queen's Gambit is, how ratings work, etc. I depend on Chess.com for not just good games but also my information, otherwise I would still be learning all I know from the sporadic games I play with my brother and the rare occasion I play with my friend from college.
The point of this post is 1) to petition for a front page story of what Hou Yifan did at the Tradewise Gibralter Chess Festival and 2) introduce the story to all the other chess fans out there that missed the story but otherwise would be interested in hearing it.
So, as a formal petition,
I, moyer137, request that Chess.com publish a front page story on Hou Yifan and her final game at the Tradewise Gibralter Chess Festival.
This morning I woke up and checked my favorite news outlet to see what happened in my little world last night, and right there on the front page, 4th story down, I was shocked (and thrilled) to see a story about chess!!! And it wasn't just some article about how good chess is for the brain or for kids or something like that, it was actual chess news! The story was about how Hou Yifan intentionally threw her last game at the Tradewise Gibralter Open. I gobbled up the very inspiring, yet brief coverage of the story and then dashed over to Chess.com to read more into it. I figured it would be the front page story, but, to my amazement, the story was nowhere to be found. I was appalled to find that the only mention of the story was a petition in the forums to have Hou banned from professional chess. I would like to meet that petition with a petition to Chess.com: to have this story covered and to give Hou the spotlight, so she can get the message she has so diligently worked on across to the chess world. Please Chess.com, give Hou a front page story; please enlighten us to the actual circumstances of the event, with the arguments from both sides.