I did a terrible job at trying to make a point about Women's Chess Tournaments yesterday [View all]

[Hugh_Lebowski]

And I want to apologize to the people I caused hurt or consternation to. I definitely could've worded things better. I want everyone to know I am 100% against this new FIDE policy concerning trans-players. They are ridiculous and indefensible, and I hope they receive such backlash that they repeal it with their tail between their legs!

However when it comes to the existence of female-only (and trans-women should be allowed to play in them!) chess tournaments, after spending a good deal of time reading articles yesterday, I still think there's good arguments for seeing them continuing to exist.

I wanted to share an article I read yesterday, titled "Why there’s a separate World Chess Championship for women" written by:

Alexey W. Root

Lecturer in Education, University of Texas at Dallas

I was the 1989 U.S. Women's Chess Champion. Before earning my Ph.D. in education, I taught high school social studies and English and ran the school's chess club. I have written seven books on chess in education. I teach online courses about chess in education for UT Dallas; the courses have been taken by students all over the world. I am available for talks, chess exhibitions, and presentations; please contact me.

I'm not going to excerpt anything from it, but it's a very even-handed explanation for the logic behind having these tournaments (and discusses counter-points), and IMHO worth a read.

https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-gender-imbalance-in-top-level-chess-150637

Another interesting article I read yesterday that's basically a discussion of 'nature vs. nurture' titled "What’s behind the gender imbalance in top-level chess?" written by:

David Smerdon

Assistant Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland

I primarily work in behavioural and development economics. My research involves theory and modelling, experiments in the lab and field, and microeconometric analysis in order to investigate topics such as social norms, the impact of refugee integration, the effects of income inequality, and female genital mutilation. Prior to academia, I became a chess grandmaster and represented Australia at seven chess Olympiads.

Spoiler: The debate is long-ongoing, with many theories on the subject, but there's good evidence nurture/social elements play a big role.

https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-gender-imbalance-in-top-level-chess-150637

I also want to add I am 100% pro-woman, and women's rights. I've often argued here my belief that women are the essence of our species, that males are basically an offshoot created by evolution for the purpose of genetic diversity. I think women are inarguably the equal of men, and arguably the objectively superior sex, and that includes intellectually. I WANT women to be in charge of the world, not men. So it did hurt a bit to labeled a misogynist, but as I say I see how I didn't present my points as I should've, and again I apologize, and hope we can still be