While reflecting on the topic of women in chess during this Women’s History Month, I recalled being fortunate enough to be a part of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) at Webster University created by Women’s World Champion Susan Polgar.
During those years, we had several discussions about how different the chess world was 30-40 years ago, especially for women. Susan was, in a sense, the “icebreaker” for women in chess at the time. In fact, the creation of the “Open” World Championship in which both male and female players can participate was one of her major contributions to the chess world.
The view of women in chess in the past can be better understood from the interview of the then-reigning World Champion Garry Kasparov for Playboy journal in 1989, in which he claimed that “there is real chess and women’s chess. Some people don’t like to hear this, but chess does not fit women properly.
It’s a fight, you know? A big fight. It’s not for women. Sorry. She’s helpless if she has men’s opposition. I think this is very simple logic. It’s the logic of a fighter, a professional fighter. Women are weaker fighters.” Years later, he has changed his mind and apologized for his comment, but it still provides a clear illustration of the mindset towards women in chess at that time.
Fortunately, the majority of people now believe that women and men can compete together in chess. However, perhaps due to years of women being discouraged from becoming professional chess players, there is still a big discrepancy in level between men and women chess players.
Currently, only one active female player, Hou Yifan, is in the top 100 players in the world, and only one woman, Judit Polgar, has ever become one of the top 10 in the world. I hope that the top player rankings will reflect a more equal balance of male and female players over time.
For now, let’s appreciate the game between strong IM Carissa Yip and my friend GM Péter Prohászka
Game of the Week is: Yip, Carissa vs. Prohászka, Péter
**If you want to see me analyze this game live, check out my stream on my Twitch channel on Wednesday, 3/24 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. Feel free to bring any questions you might have about the analysis – or about chess in general – and I’ll be happy to answer them!**
Analysis:
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Edited by Della Almind
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