GM Susan Polgar and
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk are co-chairs of the
FIDE Women's Chess Committee (they will hold their chairs through the 2010 FIDE elections). Yesterday (September 21, 2009), GM Kosteniuk posted at her
blog that the FIDE 80th Annual Congress will be held in the period from October 11th to 18th in Kallithea, Halkidiki, Greece. During this time, the Women's Chess Committee will meet.
This Committee is not light-weight! Almost all of the participants are famous titled female chessplayers with years of international playing experience under their belts. They know the ins and outs of playing professional competitive chess against males and females over many years - they've seen it all:
[Co-chairs: GM Susan Polgar and GM Alexandra Kosteniuk]
Secretary IM Martha Baquero Fierro Ecuador
Councilor 1 GM Xie Jun China (former Women's World Champion)
Councilor 2 GM Maya Chiburdanidze Georgia (former Women's World Champion)
Member 1 GM Antoaneta Stefanova Bulgaria (former Women's World Champion)
Member 2 GM Xu Yuhua China (former Women's World Champion)
Member 3 GM Zhu Chen Qatar (former Women's World Champion)
Member 4 GM Nona Gaprindashvili Georgia (former Women's World Champion)
Member 5 Mrs Franca Dapiran Italy
GM Kosteniuk asked for suggestions and recommendations to present to the Committee, and several people responded. I put in my two cents' worth, too. I liked what I wrote so much (hey, I'm an egotistical Leo, what can I say?), I'm posting it here, too:
In countries where the culture encourages equality between females and males, we can encourage more girls and women to play chess by offering separate prizes for the females who play in mixed events.
While I enjoy reading about and looking at the games in female-only chess events because they are gender-neutral, women playing against other women is a velvet trap ratings wise. The way to advance one's ELO is to play against and eventually prevail against higher-rated players. When the best players in the world are ranked 2760 and above (all men), one must bite the bullet and mix it up with the guys. The best female player in the world today has dropped below 2700; and the top range of other female players is below 2600:
1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2687 0 1976
2 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2595 25 1987
3 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2585 9 1994
4 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2542 8 1985
5 Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2536 11 1986
Rating alone may not be a true representation of one's relative playing strength, but it is what is looked at by everyone as a measure of success. Until women are encouraged through prizes and other incentives to play A LOT OF chess against males, as a whole females will not escape the ELO ghetto that they stay in by playing against each other and, I think, as a consequence, may continue to subconsciously consider themselves as second-class players.
I'm working with others to encourage more girls and women to participate in small to medium sized local and regional tournaments. We do this by offering prizes for the female players. We have had success. This has encouraged us to put more money into local events.
Start local and go global. Players like GM Kosteniuk, GM Susan Polgar, IM Jennifer Shahade, and many others are working tirelessly to promote the game of chess for females. We need all of these efforts, and more! And we need support. Stop schmoozing about it and start doing something about it! Get out and volunteer to teach chess to little ones. Start a program at a local library. Put your money where your mouth is - contribute to local programs that promote chess literacy. Contribute to organizations such as 9Queens and the Susan Polgar Foundation that support female chess initiatives. Got $100? Fund some prizes for chess femmes at a local chess tournament, and then work to publicize that event as much as possible. That's what we do - and let me tell you - it works!
THOSE THINGS are just a few of what you can do to make a difference. Chessplayers are really cool people. Put your coolness to good use: do a little mentoring; publicize promotional efforts and chess femme results on blogs and websites; engage in outreach. It's as easy as starting a conversation with the person sitting next to you on the bus or standing in line at Starbucks :) People aren’t put off by chess – they are intrigued by it, and sometimes slightly frightened because they think you have to be a ‘genius’ to learn to play. You can show them otherwise.
Enthusiasm is contagious. GM Kosteniuk has given everyone at the Hales Corners Chess Challenge X (Milwaukee, Wisconsin October 17, 2009) a big boost by providing, without charge, books, CDs and DVDs to hand out to chess femmes who participate in the tournament! GM Susan Polgar is donating her time without charge to determine the winner of the 2009 Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award in the 2009 U.S. Women's Chess Championship (she also did this in 2008).
You don't get if you don't ask! So get out there and start doing, and ask – you’ll be amazed at what can happen.
GM Susan Polgar and GM Alexandra Kosteniuk are co-chairs of the FIDE Women's Chess Committee (they will hold their chairs through the 2010 FIDE elections). Yesterday (September 21, 2009), GM Kosteniuk posted at her blog that the FIDE 80th Annual Congress will be held in the period from October 11th to 18th in Kallithea, Halkidiki, Greece. During this time, the Women's Chess Committee will meet.
This Committee is not light-weight! Almost all of the participants are famous titled female chessplayers with years of international playing experience under their belts. They know the ins and outs of playing professional competitive chess against males and females over many years - they've seen it all:
[Co-chairs: GM Susan Polgar and GM Alexandra Kosteniuk]
Secretary IM Martha Baquero Fierro Ecuador
Councilor 1 GM Xie Jun China (former Women's World Champion)
Councilor 2 GM Maya Chiburdanidze Georgia (former Women's World Champion)
Member 1 GM Antoaneta Stefanova Bulgaria (former Women's World Champion)
Member 2 GM Xu Yuhua China (former Women's World Champion)
Member 3 GM Zhu Chen Qatar (former Women's World Champion)
Member 4 GM Nona Gaprindashvili Georgia (former Women's World Champion)
Member 5 Mrs Franca Dapiran Italy
GM Kosteniuk asked for suggestions and recommendations to present to the Committee, and several people responded. I put in my two cents' worth, too. I liked what I wrote so much (hey, I'm an egotistical Leo, what can I say?), I'm posting it here, too:
In countries where the culture encourages equality between females and males, we can encourage more girls and women to play chess by offering separate prizes for the females who play in mixed events.
While I enjoy reading about and looking at the games in female-only chess events because they are gender-neutral, women playing against other women is a velvet trap ratings wise. The way to advance one's ELO is to play against and eventually prevail against higher-rated players. When the best players in the world are ranked 2760 and above (all men), one must bite the bullet and mix it up with the guys. The best female player in the world today has dropped below 2700; and the top range of other female players is below 2600:
1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2687 0 1976
2 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2595 25 1987
3 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2585 9 1994
4 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2542 8 1985
5 Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2536 11 1986
Rating alone may not be a true representation of one's relative playing strength, but it is what is looked at by everyone as a measure of success. Until women are encouraged through prizes and other incentives to play A LOT OF chess against males, as a whole females will not escape the ELO ghetto that they stay in by playing against each other and, I think, as a consequence, may continue to subconsciously consider themselves as second-class players.
I'm working with others to encourage more girls and women to participate in small to medium sized local and regional tournaments. We do this by offering prizes for the female players. We have had success. This has encouraged us to put more money into local events.
Start local and go global. Players like GM Kosteniuk, GM Susan Polgar, IM Jennifer Shahade, and many others are working tirelessly to promote the game of chess for females. We need all of these efforts, and more! And we need support. Stop schmoozing about it and start doing something about it! Get out and volunteer to teach chess to little ones. Start a program at a local library. Put your money where your mouth is - contribute to local programs that promote chess literacy. Contribute to organizations such as 9Queens and the Susan Polgar Foundation that support female chess initiatives. Got $100? Fund some prizes for chess femmes at a local chess tournament, and then work to publicize that event as much as possible. That's what we do - and let me tell you - it works!
THOSE THINGS are just a few of what you can do to make a difference. Chessplayers are really cool people. Put your coolness to good use: do a little mentoring; publicize promotional efforts and chess femme results on blogs and websites; engage in outreach. It's as easy as starting a conversation with the person sitting next to you on the bus or standing in line at Starbucks :) People aren’t put off by chess – they are intrigued by it, and sometimes slightly frightened because they think you have to be a ‘genius’ to learn to play. You can show them otherwise.
Enthusiasm is contagious. GM Kosteniuk has given everyone at the Hales Corners Chess Challenge X (Milwaukee, Wisconsin October 17, 2009) a big boost by providing, without charge, books, CDs and DVDs to hand out to chess femmes who participate in the tournament! GM Susan Polgar is donating her time without charge to determine the winner of the 2009 Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award in the 2009 U.S. Women's Chess Championship (she also did this in 2008).
You don't get if you don't ask! So get out there and start doing, and ask – you’ll be amazed at what can happen.
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