13-02-2016, 10:00 AM
I've been saying for years that the only reason there are not as many women at the top of chess as men is that the "pyramid" of players from novice to grandmaster is not as wide from the base upwards. The frustrating thing I find with chess is that we have an ideal opportunity to market ourselves as the sport where sex does not make a difference. Instead tournament organisers try and distinguish as much as possible between male and female players by offering different entry fees and prize money which in my opinion makes women feel like they are some kind of 'special case' and somehow expected to play to a worse standard.
For me the ideal would be if we didn't notice that the person sitting opposite us was male or female just as we wouldn't notice if the player had blonde or dark hair.
For me the ideal would be if we didn't notice that the person sitting opposite us was male or female just as we wouldn't notice if the player had blonde or dark hair.