Women in chess (2)

I hope this message finds you all well. I am writing to address a matter of concern that led to the closure of our previous forum. Unfortunately, the forum was shut down due to the use of certain inappropriate language by a few individuals. It is unfortunate that the actions of a few can have such an impact on the entire community.

As we embark on a fresh start with this new forum, I kindly request that we all make a conscious effort to behave differently. Let us strive for a more respectful and inclusive environment where everyone feels safe to express their opinions.

                                JUST IN‼️‼️

The queen may be the strongest piece in chess, but it sometimes feels like few women besides the fictional Beth Harmon seem to play the game. In the United States, for example, only about one-seventh of the members of the national chess federation are female. As of February 2021, there are only 37 active female players that have achieved the highest title in chess, that of grandmaster, out of the over 1700 active players who have earned the title.

That said, the very best female players have always been of unambiguously high caliber. Below are the top five in history. All of them played in open events consisting of men and/or women, and some decided at one point to only play in open events. When they did play in women's events, they often lapped the field. All of them have won international tournaments in open fields or defeated a world champion, and in most cases both. Their accomplishments make them legendary icons of the game.

What is being discussed here, is not to encourage women to play chess against their will or to fulfill some other agenda. It's about the fact that there exists an active discouraging attitude towards women in the chess world. Namely, the disrespectful attitude that players have become accustomed to, the dismissal of female players in media coverage and in the literature, the cultural bias against women playing chess (even in the west mind you) where either from childhood girls are told chess is not for them, and similarly in society.

Honorable Mentions
#5 Vera Menchik
#4 GM Nona Gaprindashvili 
#3 GM Maia Chiburdanidze
#2 GM Hou Yifan 
#1 GM Judit Polgar

In the media coverage and literature, often there's a clear disregard towards women, e.g. books starting off in their preface by saying "they will refer to a hypothetical chess player as a he for as long as there hasn't been a female world champion!" In other words, they're saying "I'll start respecting women in chess when they become one day world champion." Or worse, books trying to give analogies for a chess concept and including sexist remarks such as: "For the lady chess player, I would use the comparison with buying clothes corresponding to latest fashion...". And sadly, the list goes on and on... A lot of these things are not just inherent to the chess world.

Men are just better

Statistically

Few women play chess especially in OTB tournaments and OTB chess clubs. If boys and men only act like Gentlemen and Gentle boys.

I’m not sure what you mean by “disrespectful attitude” towards woman in chess but I watched last years Woman’s US Open Chess Championship and saw a lot of great chess and analysis which is fine by me.

I am glad you witnessed welcoming attitude by male players. Even Fischer and Kasparov expressed not so nice statements about female players.

When men lose against me, they always have a headache… I have never beaten a healthy man.

Bodhana Sivanandan earned a place in the record books last Saturday when the Harrow schoolgirl, just seven years old, tied for second prize in the UK women’s blitz championship at Leamington Spa. As joint winner of the English title she broke the existing age record for a national women’s champion by more than four years in a remarkable performance against opposition led by internationally seasoned rivals.

The open winner was Elmira Mirzoeva, 41, a former Moscow women’s champion now resident in London and playing under a neutral Fide flag. Sivanandan, a point behind, shared the English title with Sussex-based Kamila Hryshchenko, 20, who as a Ukrainian was the 2019 world girls under-18 blitz champion. “Blitz” was defined as three minutes per player for the entire game, plus an increment of two seconds per move.

The youngster’s overall performance was rated at 2076 Fide blitz points, master standard, and her Fide rating jumped from 1556 to 1884. Her 328-point gain may be a record for Fide rating improvement in a single day. This is insane!!!

I'd put Vera Menchik much higher on this list, to 2nd place. Not only was she completely dominant in women's chess. but she also participated at top level tournaments and frequently stood her ground. She beat many top players of her era, including a world champion (Max Euwe). Hou Yifan is close to this level, but actually haven't done any of this.

Chat Gpt