That would depend on how attractive the girl is.
What if a girl became World Chess Champion?
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Great, we can pay her 30% less than a male champion.
Yes, chess would get more attention because she would be the first female chess champion. Also, it would make mroe women interested in chess.
And if she was attractive, she'd get more attention than Danica Patrick....
Even if she did garner more attention than normal, it would still amount to very little attention. I have a lot of customers from Norway, and I often mention Magnus Carlsen. Most of the Norwegians have heard of him, but, not once has his name led to an interesting conversation about chess. Not once :(
Chess enthusiasts are a small, devoted clan. I could be wrong, but I think it's destined to remain that way.
May 22, 2014
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#6
I vividly remember, as a scholastic player, the 1972 world championship between Fischer and Spassky. I watched Shelby Lyman's analysis on TV. Fischer was in Life Magazine and Sports Illustrated. The game results were reported on the Nightly News. The games scores were in the daily newspapers, rather than the Sunday chess column.
It was because of the two Cold War Superpowers and the personalities of the contestants. There was drama! Henry Kissinger was involved. It was a big deal!
As a result, the USCF had a surge in new members.
I think this would bring about a new chess boom on a grander scale than what Fischer has achieved. And, this new champion needn't be very attractive.Just being world champion , beating so many male players is charisma in inself.
Post #6: Yes, there was a surge, but chess got really, really lucky. I doubt something like that will happen in the next century without another cold war, in the US anyway.
Hmm, maybe not just a female world champion, but an American female champion, could do it. Even then, I don't think it's the kind of thing that could create that sort of spark -- for aspiring female players, sure, but I still don't think the non chess playing world would be too interested.
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Well, then she would be world champion. Actually not just that. I agree that there would be tremendous press coverage & more females would get into chess. The being paid 30% less was funny, I'm sorry, I'm just sitting here laughing over it. Not very sensitive, I know. Sorry. Oooookay, I'll move on now.
May 23, 2014
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#12
Chess lost popularity with the general public when deep blue beat Kasparov. Chess will only ever be popular with us, the chess players.
Unless a self-aware neural-net is developed one day which can kick the engines' asses, I suspect the general public will never care about chess.
But as chess players, it is our duty to not give a sh1t what the general public thinks about our game
May 23, 2014
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#13
What if a girl became World Chess Champion?
I think it was a totally awesome!!!
It would be great if a woman became the World Chess Champion, and she would probably get a lot of attention for being the first woman to do so.
I agree. I was getting ready to post that exact thing before I decided to run to the kitchen first. I think it would be cool to have a lady as world chess champion. But wishful thinking & reality are vastly different. In the meantime there's the beast of the chess board, Magnus Carlsen, who I happen to be a big fan of.
WTH is going on in here?
May 23, 2014
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#17
If a woman won the title that would be great. Don't think it would change much with the general public, but one can hope it would.... Either way, it would be nice to see.
Spiritbro77 wrote:
If a woman won the title that would be great. Don't think it would change much with the general public, but one can hope it would.... Either way, it would be nice to see.
If that women was an American you know in the good ole' USA they would make it a " Big-Deal" for awhile anyway , the women's liberation crowd would wonder out-loud what took so long to crush those Big Dumb Smelly Men !! 
wut?
Would chess get more attention than Fischer,Kasparov or Carlsen could ever bring in chess?