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> Sarah Longson, a former British ladies’ champion Athletic sports aside, does anyone know the motivation between gender-segregated leagues in games like chess

• paganel 6y ago
  > between gender-segregated leagues in games like chess? Because with few exceptions (the Polgar sisters) they didn't manage to compete on the same level as men. Judit Polgar was the highest-ranking women ever (no. 8, in 2005), but 15 years have passed already and there's no woman-challenger in sight. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judit_Polg%C3%A1r https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judit_Polg%C3%A1r
  • dagw 6y ago
    15 years have passed already and there's no woman-challenger in sight. I was about to comment that Yifan Hou might be close, but turns out she's only ranked in the mid 80s. And she is by all accounts the most dominant currently active woman.
  • aglionby 6y ago
    It isn't fair (in the statistical sense) to make a comparison on the basis of rank between an over- and under-represented group. Interesting read here https://en.chessbase.com/post/what-gender-gap-in-chess https://en.chessbase.com/post/what-gender-gap-in-chess
• kriops 6y ago
  The classes are open (people can enter regardless of gender), and female-only. The latter exist primarily as a means for recriuting more women to the sport, as far as I know.
• cglace 6y ago
  They say it’s to encourage female participation.
• kace91 6y ago
  I vaguely remember some studies about women underperforming when they perceive their opponent as a man (even playing online). A quick google search might get you some articles on the matter, or the papers themselves.
  • La1n 6y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat In situations where you are expected to perform worse due to a stereotype one tends to perform worse.
  • nisuni 6y ago
    Is this enough to explain not a single woman in the top 100?
• Sodman 6y ago
  There is no male-only chess, women can also compete. Female-only chess clubs and tournaments are a way to encourage women to get into chess in a less hostile, more welcoming environment. Ultimately it's an attempt to bring more diversity to the male-dominated game. In 2019 for example, women made up a higher percentage of chess players then ever before, but still only accounted for 14.6% [0] of registered players. [0] https://www.chess.com/news/view/team-battles-femme-batale-north-america-vs-europe-tuesday https://www.chess.com/news/view/team-battles-femme-batale-no...
  • chance_state 6y ago
    Are they trying to hit 50% female participation?
• faizshah 6y ago
  In addition to the other points people have brought up there is a video from a high profile chess streamer on sexual harassment/predatory behavior in the chess community: https://old.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/he50l7/alexandra_shares_a_personal_experience_about/ https://old.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/he50l7/alexandra_sha...
• pmontra 6y ago
  There are so many more men playing that the chances of finding a woman strong enough to win a top tournament are slim. We would have men-only tournaments with a reverse gender ratio. Then there are commercial and opportunity reasons. The winner of a women-only tournament is always a women and sponsors can show a winning woman to their customers. Furthermore it could help to recruit new female players. I'd like to hear from a woman about that because maybe knowing that they'll win only in a protected area, or the very existence of protected areas, could actually discourage them to play. BTW, the same principles apply to the game of Go (only one woman ever won a major open tournament), and even the anti cheating measures.
  • jasonwatkinspdx 6y ago
    Alexandra Botez and others have talked about it at considerable length. Suffice it to say, none of them feel discouraged to play by the existence of women's titles. And they all have pretty horrible stories of harassment or even assault growing up as young women in the chess world. Women's titles are not some sort of value reducing participation trophies, and the chess world is far more hostile as a status quo than you're assuming.
• erfgh 6y ago
  Same reason why they exist outside of chess, women are not as good as men.
  • 4ggr0 6y ago
    I hope that's a joke, and even then, it's not a very good one.
    • ha4fsd3fas 6y ago
      I would imagine it's not a joke. His comment is factual if you interpret "women" and "men" as a population and in context of chess performance(not in general). > Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.
      • mellosouls 6y ago
        women are not as good as men [generally] is hardly an argument where it is easy to assume good faith!
    • leetcrew 6y ago
      it's true of the best chess players, and in a couple esports I know of, despite women having no innate disadvantage. doesn't stop my mom from beating me every time we play.
• dalbasal 6y ago
  Basically to get more women into chess. They still play in non-segregated tournaments, get regular titles and such. Women's chess titles, tournaments and such an extra. Think of it like having a local league with its own rating system and titles. Countries have this, and it exists alongside international, fide titles and ratings.
• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]