@vonxylofon @Tattooed_mummy The rationale they give is that because women have not traditionally been as included in chess, it would be a good idea to have a women’s only category where they could participate without the threat of discrimination, and so that more women in chess can get titles with less competition to encourage other women to join. Of course, woman can still compete in the open category and get titles, but women still do not have the prominence of men.