Another Angry WomanAug 17, 2023
Curious as to what the justification is for having gendered chess categories in the first place, because literally the only thing I can think of ultimately amounts to they believe women are innately stupid.
Show threadAnother Angry Woman

If it really is, as some people claim, to encourage women to play in a toxic environment, that reflects *even worse* on chess, when they could actually... just ban misogynists from competing.

If chess is a brain game, misogyny surely counts as a red card foul.

Aug 17, 2023 at 12:56pmWeb
Show threadCheryl MorganAug 17, 2023
@stavvers exactly. But apparently Freeze Peach trumps every argument.
Show threadMike LandersAug 17, 2023
@stavvers Anna Cramling has a YouTube channel where she very entertainingly beats male players (including hustlers) in around three minutes while matching them trash talk for trash talk.
Show threadNic DafisAug 17, 2023
@stavvers *less* toxic?
Show threadWayne MyersAug 17, 2023
@stavvers Absolutely. My sister and I played a lot of chess as kids, and there were always a lot more boys than girls in junior clubs and tournaments, with the number of girls decreasing with age. Organisers (always male) claimed to be mystified by it: gendered prizes/teams was all they could think of. We were both fairly strong players agewise, but I won very little while my sister picked up a lot of 'Best Girl' prizes in tournaments and played board 2 for the British Junior Girls Team. (1/2)
Show threadWayne MyersAug 17, 2023

@stavvers As I recall, getting to play for the British team was definitely encouraging for her, but she was a lot less into the Best Girl prizes. Especially as she often lost out on Best Girl b/c her friend, the board 1 on the British Girls team was always that bit stronger a player.

Anyway, none of us play much chess any more.

Show threadAdlangxAug 17, 2023
@stavvers They really shot themselves in the face on this.