transwomen banned from competing in womens' chess competitions

[Aristaeus]

The chess governing body, FIDE, has banned transwomen from competing in womens' chess events until the completion of a review which may take two years to complete.

Trans women banned from world chess events while review takes place

The world’s top chess federation has ruled that transgender women cannot compete in its official events for females until a review of the situation is made

www.theguardian.com

I have to say this sounds idiotic. Male puberty confers no advantage over females when it comes to chess. And although there are some separate competitions specifically for women, female chess players regularly compete with men.

I fail to see the reasoning behind this and don't support it.

 

[Individual]

Just add a trans women and a trans man chess competition.

 

[samiam5211]

Just add a trans women and a trans man chess competition.

Why do they even have gendered divisions for chess?

 

[Good4Nothin]

The chess governing body, FIDE, has banned transwomen from competing in womens' chess events until the completion of a review which may take two years to complete.

Trans women banned from world chess events while review takes place

The world’s top chess federation has ruled that transgender women cannot compete in its official events for females until a review of the situation is made

www.theguardian.com

I have to say this sounds idiotic. Male puberty confers no advantage over females when it comes to chess. And although there are some separate competitions specifically for women, female chess players regularly compete with men.

I fail to see the reasoning behind this and don't support it.

I guess they think women aren't as smart as men.

 

[tshade]

Just add a trans women and a trans man chess competition.

I play chess all the time and there not a division of gender in tournaments I attend.......

 

[Individual]

Why do they even have gendered divisions for chess?

No idea.

 

[Helix]

FFS.

 

[Individual]

I play chess all the time and there not a division of gender in tournaments I attend.......

Seems like there is somewhere, hence this thread.

 

[Aristaeus]

Why do they even have gendered divisions for chess?

They don't really. Women play men all the time. There are some women's competitions, which I suspect is more about encouraging more female players in a male dominated game.

 

[SNOWFLAKE]

I guess they think women aren't as smart as men.

Wouldn't THAT be a conservative position?

 

[Lovebug]

Now that is just silly .

 

[VanceMack]

Why is there a "Womens Chess Division" in the first place? That seems...odd.

 

[Aristaeus]

Why is there a "Womens Chess Division" in the first place? That seems...odd.

There isn't. There are some competitions that are for women, which is more aimed at encouraging more female participation.

 

[Lovebug]

Not to get too far off the chess topic, but let me ask you this.
Have you ever watched American Ninja warrior?
It is an obstacle competition with young/old/male/ female competing against each other. The prize is $ 1 mil, iirc.
Women don't stand a chance, at all. Fair?

 

[Absentglare]

The chess governing body, FIDE, has banned transwomen from competing in womens' chess events until the completion of a review which may take two years to complete.

Trans women banned from world chess events while review takes place

The world’s top chess federation has ruled that transgender women cannot compete in its official events for females until a review of the situation is made

www.theguardian.com

I have to say this sounds idiotic. Male puberty confers no advantage over females when it comes to chess. And although there are some separate competitions specifically for women, female chess players regularly compete with men.

I fail to see the reasoning behind this and don't support it.

I’m generally supportive of trans rights, which is why I am opposed to the idea that the government step in and ban trans people from sports. It’s not up to politicians to manage.

This is an example of the league’s governing body, itself, doing a review to make a determination. In the interim, they have imposed a rule. I support them governing themselves in this.

The idea behind a women’s chess division is that the sport has been historically male-dominated at the top end, they wanted a place where female participation was encouraged. It’s hard for me to imagine some man deciding to transition just to get some female division chess trophies. But i’m not well-researched in these players so i’m going to defer to the league to manage itself. I think it’s fair for them to decide where to draw the line, requiring X years of hormone replacement therapy or whatever.

On the face, though, this makes me kind of sick, like of course women aren’t inferior at chess. That makes me wonder if it’s more about hating on trans women than anything else.

 

[BirdinHand]

Word of the decision comes as the federation is hosting a World Cup event in Azerbaijan where top players including No 1 ranked Magnus Carlsen are attending.

FIDE - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Member federations

www.fide.com

I had no idea this organization existed - but just browsing through the Wikipedia page, looking at who is the Board for the US, and where they've decided to host their World Cup this year...can't say I'm at all surprised by their decision.

 

[Good4Nothin]

Wouldn't THAT be a conservative position?

It would be a stupid position.

 

[Good4Nothin]

I’m generally supportive of trans rights, which is why I am opposed to the idea that the government step in and ban trans people from sports. It’s not up to politicians to manage.

This is an example of the league’s governing body, itself, doing a review to make a determination. In the interim, they have imposed a rule. I support them governing themselves in this.

The idea behind a women’s chess division is that the sport has been historically male-dominated at the top end, they wanted a place where female participation was encouraged. It’s hard for me to imagine some man deciding to transition just to get some female division chess trophies. But i’m not well-researched in these players so i’m going to defer to the league to manage itself. I think it’s fair for them to decide where to draw the line, requiring X years of hormone replacement therapy or whatever.

On the face, though, this makes me kind of sick, like of course women aren’t inferior at chess. That makes me wonder if it’s more about hating on trans women than anything else.

It's about hating on women, not just trans women. Maybe they should be allowed to be stupid and hateful, but people should be allowed to notice how stupid and hateful they are being.

It's almost as bad as getting rid of SAT college entrance exams because some races don't do as well on them.

 

[maquiscat]

The chess governing body, FIDE, has banned transwomen from competing in womens' chess events until the completion of a review which may take two years to complete.

Trans women banned from world chess events while review takes place

The world’s top chess federation has ruled that transgender women cannot compete in its official events for females until a review of the situation is made

www.theguardian.com

I have to say this sounds idiotic. Male puberty confers no advantage over females when it comes to chess. And although there are some separate competitions specifically for women, female chess players regularly compete with men.

I fail to see the reasoning behind this and don't support it.

World chess body bars trans women from competing in women’s events

The International Chess Federation’s new guidelines also strip transgender men of previously won women’s titles.

www.nbcnews.com

In this article, they also noted that they were going to remove the women's title for those who transitioned to trans men after earning those titles. WTF?

 

[maquiscat]

I guess they think women aren't as smart as men.

When my husband showed me the other article, I stated that was because the trans women were at the disadvantage (joke aimed at the stereotypes, not actual trans or cis genders)

 

[maquiscat]

I’m generally supportive of trans rights, which is why I am opposed to the idea that the government step in and ban trans people from sports. It’s not up to politicians to manage.

This is an example of the league’s governing body, itself, doing a review to make a determination. In the interim, they have imposed a rule. I support them governing themselves in this.

The idea behind a women’s chess division is that the sport has been historically male-dominated at the top end, they wanted a place where female participation was encouraged. It’s hard for me to imagine some man deciding to transition just to get some female division chess trophies. But i’m not well-researched in these players so i’m going to defer to the league to manage itself. I think it’s fair for them to decide where to draw the line, requiring X years of hormone replacement therapy or whatever.

I am with you on the private organization making it's own decisions, as I am for all the sports organizations for doing so. It won't mean that I agree with the decisions.

On the face, though, this makes me kind of sick, like of course women aren’t inferior at chess. That makes me wonder if it’s more about hating on trans women than anything else.

Here's the part I don't get. Why are they taking away the statuses of trans men who earned them before they became trans men?

 

[Gaius46]

This makes no sense to me. The only possible justification I can think of is if males for some reason get significantly better chess training and more opportunities for playing and learning than women
but I have no clue what kind of difference that makes even if it were true.

 

[CLAX1911]

This makes no sense to me. The only possible justification I can think of is if males for some reason get significantly better chess training and more opportunities for playing and learning than women
but I have no clue what kind of difference that makes even if it were true.

Somebody earlier in the thread explains to me that there was probably girls only tournaments so that they could get more female participation. P

 

[Aristaeus]

Somebody earlier in the thread explains to me that there was probably girls only tournaments so that they could get more female participation. P

But how does having, say, one transwoman competing in a women's chess tournament with 20 women, discourage female participation, given that there is no physical advantage for the transwoman?

 

[CLAX1911]

But how does having, say, one transwoman competing in a women's chess tournament with 20 women, discourage female participation, given that there is no physical advantage for the transwoman?

Why does having a regular man competing with them discourage female participation?