This is one tough event, judging from the scores. GM Monica Socko is perfect through R4, though, proving she has what it takes. But there is a long way to go...
Ladies' standings after Round 4:
Rk. Name FED RtgI Pts.
1 GM Socko Monika POL 2465 4,0
2 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan SCO 2447 3,5
3 IM Cmilyte Viktorija LTU 2485 3,5
4 IM Muzychuk Anna SLO 2533 3,5
IM Skripchenko Almira FRA 2456 3,5
6 GM Cramling Pia SWE 2523 3,5
7 GM Kosintseva Tatiana RUS 2524 3,5
8 WGM Galojan Lilit ARM 2380 3,5
9 WGM Chelushkina Irina SRB 2319 3,0
10 IM Muzychuk Mariya UKR 2444 3,0
11 GM Sebag Marie FRA 2506 3,0
12 IM Kosintseva Nadezhda RUS 2554 3,0
13 IM Romanko Marina RUS 2409 3,0
14 IM Rajlich Iweta POL 2459 3,0
15 IM Moser Eva AUT 2437 3,0
16 GM Stefanova Antoaneta BUL 2555 3,0
17 IM Javakhishvili Lela GEO 2500 3,0
18 GM Dzagnidze Nana GEO 2479 3,0
IM Khurtsidze Nino GEO 2434 3,0
20 WGM Zhukova Natalia UKR 2492 3,0
21 IM Gvetadze Sopio GEO 2342 3,0
22 WGM Savina Anastasia RUS 2391 3,0
23 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina RUS 2438 3,0
24 WGM Vojinovic Jovana MNE 2296 3,0
25 WGM Melnikova Yana RUS 2272 3,0
26 IM Paehtz Elisabeth GER 2486 3,0
WGM Kursova Maria RUS 2296 3,0
28 IM Dembo Yelena GRE 2457 3,0
29 IM Ushenina Anna UKR 2452 3,0
30 WGM Cosma Elena-Luminita ROU 2346 3,0
31 IM Matveeva Svetlana RUS 2373 3,0
32 WFM Ziaziulkina Nastassia BLR 2188 3,0
33 IM Bojkovic Natasa SRB 2384 3,0
There are an additional 116 players female players (yep, 116), who have 2.5 points and below.
As far as I could tell after scrolling through the men's list of players a few days ago, there were NO FEMALE PLAYERS. Were the rules changed so that females can no longer enter what used to be an "Open?" It was just a couple of years ago that GM Marie Sebag earned her third and final GM norm by scoring 6.5 in the Open (in reality, like 99% men) event. But now it will be harder for women to score GM events if they are restricted to playing in the women's event, because (1) there are not as many GMs that one can be matched against in order to qualify for norms and (2) the scoring requirements will be much higher.
Am I just dreaming this? Why would FIDE do such a thing? Do they think too many women are achieving the GM title now, and they want to rope the chess femmes back? Can someone tell me I'm wrong?
Of course they can play the open event. I guess they consider money prizes more valuable than GM norms and, since there's no special prize for the best female player in the open section, their choice is clear. Everytime a top woman player speaks, she asks for higher prizes for women.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info - I'm glad to hear that women are able to play in the Open and relieved that FIDE was not so silly as to bar females outright from signing up for the Open. It makes me unhappy that women are self-selecting themselves out of the Open. However, if I were in their shoes, I suppose I'd go for a better chance at prize money too, by playing in the Women's Championship. So the Women's Chess Ghetto of playing against lower-rated players for half-pay or less self-perpetuates.
ReplyDeleteThey play half-pay because the general level of the tournament is lower, not because they are men or women. It would be really unfair to offer the same prizes in a competition where the top players are rated under 2560 as in a competition where the top players are rated above 2700. If a player, male or female, wants to earn +2700 prizes, he or she should play against +2700 players.
ReplyDeleteI guess the (unfortunately born) male players rated 2550-2650 are also unhappy with the prize distribution.
Hmmm, if the male players of 2550 to 2650 are so dispossessed, why are so many of them playing in the Open where so many of them will go home empty-handed, it being likely that the top prizes will go to those few players over 2700 who are actually playing this year.
ReplyDeleteYes, there is a difference (perhaps) in relative skill levels between a 2700 and a 2500 -- I am not yet convinced that any particular woman rated 2500 is so inferior to any particular 2650 rated male, because chances are her ELO does not accurately reflect her relative level of skill. Until we have a larger pool of female players, statistical studies will probably be artificially skewed by the small number available to compare in the samples.
Equal pay for equal work. The effort put forth by the players to play a good game, round after round, is not determined by gender, but by will. Why is the effort not equally compensible? The organizers are broadcasting the message that women's efforts in their games are necessarily less than the men's. The result of the unequal prize structures for tournaments that offer separate women's prizes is that women are inferior.