The Status of Female Players in Chess
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Women tend to be relationship oriented. Chess often times lacks that at the level women want or need. Sure it is great to build friendships over chess. Many times though it takes a extra effort because chess many times is Hi or handshake at the beginning, and good game at the end and no conversation between. Also as others have said it is based on war or battles which usually doesn't appeal to ladies.
Interesting as it is to hear men ruminate on the female psyche, allow me to spoil this discussion.
The real question is not "why are there so few women in [the higher levels of] chess?", but "why are there currently so few women in [the higher levels of] chess?"
History has already repeatedly shown that we need to be somewhat cautious about assuming that current (even longstanding) conditions are somehow immutable. Not too long ago, we could reasonably ask - and certainly some did - why there were so few women in law schools or computer science degree programs. It was a very good question that no longer needs to be asked, as women (in the US in any case) are equally represented in Comp Sci and have exceeded men in law school.
The fact is that, as with any activity from which one group has been historically barred, the group that gets to exercise a monopoly of the activity gets a substantial advantage, even once inroads are made. Women do not, for example, have a lot of female role models in chess. Nor is it a particularly uncommon experience to find that one is the only woman in a chess club or other chess-related group. That definitely has its impact. When you are the only one, you can't help feeling (and/or being made to feel) like an outsider.
Plus, the stakes are higher for us. When a man plays a game of chess, whatever the sex of his opponent, he does not have to worry that a loss will damage the reputation of male chess players everywhere. Everyone in his club/organisation has probably seen and played any number of men, and so one bad game won't tend to reflect on men everywhere. On the other hand, the sheer number of isolated anecdotes that the "women are just different (in a way that makes them worse at/less inclined to play chess)" crowd trot out to prove their points show what's at stake every time a woman sits down and plays a game. Those anecdotes alone prove to their proponents that the stereotypical (caricatures of) women portray are the rule while the highly skilled female chess players is the exception. Last but not least, there are the issues of condescension and sexual harrassment that are a problem particularly for women trying to make their way in male-dominated fields.
Each of these factors is enough to substantially reduce the visibility of women in chess by discouraging them from participating in organised play (the only kind that will get you any kind of recognition). One wonders how the numbers would look if we included all the women who play at home against a computer or use masculine or androgynous screen names to avoid starting the game with two strikes against them.
Chess is like anything else ... you do it enough ...you get good at it .... there are many women above 2000 ....... anyone with a healthy brain can play it .... some of us people are better at it than others ... I am a great guitarist and pianist .... they are aquired skills gathered along the way .... no great feat to do any of this stuff well
I am a straight male in a great relationship ....... here, I play mostly women .... I like the female energy and heart connection we share in our chats ... Plus they are kickin my butt! regularly.
Most men are afraid of women ... of there unlimited sexuality, creativity, sweetness and live in fear of rejection, abandonment and being beat by another empowered person of the supposed 'weaker sex' ....
Down with the Ego! ....particularly the 'male' one.
Serve the GODDESS I say ......
What male friends I make here ... are just cool people ....
Elisita ..... you ROCK!
neneko wrote: TonyGas wrote:I have a great idea for getting women involved in chess. How about if the pieces were made of chocolate and once captured, were eaten? I know lots of females that would go for that. Maybe I should have kept schtum and just patented the idea...
I don't know about that. I have a feeling it'd ruin my game since I'd always be out of pieces.
LOL , this idea is horrible as there would be far too many fat people! I would be tempted to eat my own pieces as well as my opponents! 
Maybe the pawns could all be in mouse shapes?
kitten wrote:
i discovered that Reb is "not available for challenge" when i tried.
sure, he's rated 500 points better than me, but i would like to have seen how much of that is hot air.
i do insist on white, however - i gotta have some chance
A mere kitten following a grown cat such as myself?! What nerve! Lately I havent been playing players a lot lower rated than me because I stand to lose like 50 rating points if I lose as opposed to winning 1 or 2 if I nwin, which is completely unacceptable for me. However, if you dont mind playing unrated I will show you my claws !
surely ... do i get white?
And it's on!!
for those who want to follow the match it's at:
http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=4356011
kitten wrote:
And it's on!!
for those who want to follow the match it's at:
http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=4356011
Why you wanna put all this pressure on me?! 
I'll have a fiver on the feline!
kitten wrote:
surely ... do i get white?
That’s one adorable, huggable, cute little kitten! Go kitten!!
I think that the reason has more to do with our thinking patterns than society. Men are more systematic thinkers, while women are more empathetic thinkers. This is why men tend to be more attracted to games like chess or golf which require patience and a watchful eye, while women probably tend more towards social situations. Games which would be centered around a social pretense would be appealing towards women, and, even in these cases, they are usually not apt to play without their partners present. We all participate in activities which are pleasing to our own minds. Just because someone is brilliant does not necessarily mean that they enjoy stretching their minds abilities with games like chess. And on the other end, many less intelligent people could very well enjoy a game of chess because they are challenging themselves in ways that are far from easy. I enjoy maneuvering my way around a chess board, while I also enjoy pushing my physical limits running or swimming. This has nothing to do with intelligence level, nor does it have much to do with gender. I maintain, systematic minds prefer chess, while the empathetic minds would rather get a cup of coffee with a friend.
Unbeliever wrote: Have to go with Reb on this one, although it may be that males as a group have a larger percentage of members who have fragile self-esteem/ egos. I do not think it is related to Gender, but more to personality.
It is related to society bringing men up to be the "stronger sex" so any weakness they may display makes them "less of a man". Imagine how you would feel if you did something that somehow makes you "less of a woman".
I think reb has demonstrated another male characteristic by refusing to play a 'rated' game against a woman with a mere 1700+. That oh so precious rating....
What happened to chess for the sake of chess?
well i just made an error ... got the move order in a complicated exchange wrong, and now he's 2 pawns up ... he really is that good.
eleahy76 wrote: I think it has to do with battles in general (war type of battels that is) which chess is modeled after. I mean, how many women were knights?..or bishops?? Yes, they were queens (very few of them), but historically women can more relate to being pawns, and who wants to relate to that?? Chess is a game based on the idea that it is a man's world, despite the queen being the most powerful piece (thats more patronizing than anything else) and I think women are somewhat turned off by it even before they get started.
How about the viewpoint that men feel the need to be "smart" via peer-to-peer skills, whereas women don't?
TonyGas wrote:
I think reb has demonstrated another male characteristic by refusing to play a 'rated' game against a woman with a mere 1700+. That oh so precious rating....
What happened to chess for the sake of chess?
Unrated would be chess for the sake of chess would it not? Perhaps you are confused?
kool
As for the stupid notion that most women find chess boring, I have a bit of news flash:
Most men find chess boring too!
Go for it!