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I think Alexandra Botez manages this kind of thing well— obviously she's young and attractive, and there's a certain amount of goofing around that goes on (her

I think Alexandra Botez manages this kind of thing well— obviously she's young and attractive, and there's a certain amount of goofing around that goes on (her younger sister is a co-host), but overall the channel is pretty tightly focused on chess games, commentary, etc. And she's certainly a very serious player herself and has specifically spoken out on sexism issues in tournaments and the larger chess community, eg: https://www.insider.com/how-chess-was-more-sexist-than-its-portrayal-queens-gambit-2020-12 https://www.insider.com/how-chess-was-more-sexist-than-its-p...

Claudus 5y ago
There is certainly sexism built into the rating system, as woman titles require 200 less Elo points to achieve. https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-become-a-chess-grandmaster#rating https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-become-a-chess-gra...
- argc 5y ago
  If the titles required the same Elo to achieve then there wouldn't be a point to have separate titles. The female-only titles are useful to encourage women to compete imo.
- CydeWeys 5y ago
  They're different titles though. Grandmaster (GM) != Woman Grandmaster (WGM). Judit Polgár, for example, peaked at an Elo of over 2,700, so she easily qualified for Grandmaster (requirement of 2,500). Similarly, a Brigadier General is not the same rank as a General, despite some commonality in word choice between the two ranks.
  - namdnay 5y ago
    Well OK, but it doesn’t explain why there’s a WGM. There isn’t a “woman sergeant” position, and we’d definitely take offense at a company defining separate “senior engineer” and “woman senior engineer” positions.. so why accept the condescension of WGM?
    - mikepurvis 5y ago
      Not all female players do: "These titles are sometimes criticized and some female players elect not to take them, preferring to compete for open titles. For example, Grandmaster Judit Polgár, in keeping with her policy of playing only open competitions, never took a women's title." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE_titles#Women's_titles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE_titles#Women's_titles
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
zestyping 5y ago
I'm curious what would constitute managing well or not well in your opinion. She certainly uses it to her advantage, while nonetheless being a very strong player.
- mikepurvis 5y ago
  I'm not a regular follower so I don't have a lot of history to base it on, but based on the streams I've caught, it just seems well balanced— like the presentation is definitely not "sexy" in the way of, like, a hot tub streamer, but it's also not completely locked down and soulless— there's personality and shenanigans in the way of a radio host or commentator, and also a lot of great chess-playing. Another good example is Xyla Foxlin, who walks a similar line with a YouTube engineering/maker channel and has been very explicit about her approach: "I refuse to “act more like a man” in order to achieve legitimate and respectable success in the professional world. I happen to be someone who embraces her femininity and feels powerful in cute shoes and sparkly makeup, and I don’t see how any of that makes me less of an engineer." [0] [0]: https://medium.com/1517/beauty-and-the-invisible-beast-c2a8d771e467 https://medium.com/1517/beauty-and-the-invisible-beast-c2a8d...

Claudus 5y ago

There is certainly sexism built into the rating system, as woman titles require 200 less Elo points to achieve. https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-become-a-chess-grandmaster#rating https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-become-a-chess-gra...

argc 5y ago
If the titles required the same Elo to achieve then there wouldn't be a point to have separate titles. The female-only titles are useful to encourage women to compete imo.
CydeWeys 5y ago
They're different titles though. Grandmaster (GM) != Woman Grandmaster (WGM). Judit Polgár, for example, peaked at an Elo of over 2,700, so she easily qualified for Grandmaster (requirement of 2,500). Similarly, a Brigadier General is not the same rank as a General, despite some commonality in word choice between the two ranks.
- namdnay 5y ago
  Well OK, but it doesn’t explain why there’s a WGM. There isn’t a “woman sergeant” position, and we’d definitely take offense at a company defining separate “senior engineer” and “woman senior engineer” positions.. so why accept the condescension of WGM?
  - mikepurvis 5y ago
    Not all female players do: "These titles are sometimes criticized and some female players elect not to take them, preferring to compete for open titles. For example, Grandmaster Judit Polgár, in keeping with her policy of playing only open competitions, never took a women's title." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE_titles#Women's_titles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE_titles#Women's_titles
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]

zestyping 5y ago

I'm curious what would constitute managing well or not well in your opinion. She certainly uses it to her advantage, while nonetheless being a very strong player.

mikepurvis 5y ago
I'm not a regular follower so I don't have a lot of history to base it on, but based on the streams I've caught, it just seems well balanced— like the presentation is definitely not "sexy" in the way of, like, a hot tub streamer, but it's also not completely locked down and soulless— there's personality and shenanigans in the way of a radio host or commentator, and also a lot of great chess-playing. Another good example is Xyla Foxlin, who walks a similar line with a YouTube engineering/maker channel and has been very explicit about her approach: "I refuse to “act more like a man” in order to achieve legitimate and respectable success in the professional world. I happen to be someone who embraces her femininity and feels powerful in cute shoes and sparkly makeup, and I don’t see how any of that makes me less of an engineer." [0] [0]: https://medium.com/1517/beauty-and-the-invisible-beast-c2a8d771e467 https://medium.com/1517/beauty-and-the-invisible-beast-c2a8d...