Showing posts with label women in chess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women in chess. Show all posts

Thursday, October 11, 2012

FIDE October 2012 Ratings Lists

Hola darlings!

Just a short post tonight.

GM Judit Polgar has got her ELO back up over 2700 and is now in - gulp - 40th place overall in the top 100 world players:

4048Polgar, JuditHUNGM2705+7269810

It wasn't that long ago, or so it seems (10 years ago perhaps?), that this rating would have had Judit well up in the ranks of the top 10.  I am working from memory here and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Judit Polgar's top rating ever was around 2711. 

Today, there is no other woman in the top 100 chessplayers in the world.  Judit is still the Gold Standard.  Perhaps Judit will always be the Gold Standard. 

Full list of Top 100 Players (all dudes except for Judit).

Top 100 Women (I'm only showing top 10 or so):

RankNameTitleCountryRatingGamesB-Year
1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2705 10 1976
2 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2607 11 1987
3 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2605 9 1994
4 Muzychuk, Anna g SLO 2587 21 1990
5 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2565 21 1985
6 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2555 8 1987
7 Lahno, Kateryna g UKR 2551 10 1989
8 Kosintseva, Nadezhda g RUS 2539 9 1985
9 Cmilyte, Viktorija g LTU 2528 21 1983
10 Sebag, Marie g FRA 2521 0 1986

You see what the issues are here.  Only THREE women in the entire world are rated above 2600 -- by the way, congrats to GM Koneru Humpy for her vaulting back into second on the women's list of highest-rated players!  Meanwhile, the top female player (Judit Polgar) is nearly 100 points higher than the next two highest-rated female players in the world (Koneru and Hou), and the top male players have sprinted far far ahead, even leaving Polgar somewhat in their "dust."  So, the gap between male and female ELO ratings is NOT closing. 

This is entirely discouraging.  Female chessplayers are still segregated in the female chess ghetto and will have no hope of breaking out and raising their ELOs unless they go totally Polgar and refuse to play in women-only events, and only play in Opens or Invitationals against usually higher-rated male players and earn their ELOs the HARD WAY. 

But that means giving up relatively easy money, and potentially even starving if they have no other means of support other than their chess tournament earnings.  Because as the statistics stand now, on the face of it at least -- male players will win the prize money, and the female players will go home empty-handed and hungry. 

I understand the lure of potentially earning relatively easy money playing in women-only events; it can be a comfortable living for, say, the top 10 female players in the world, but it totally fricking sucks that they make less than 30 cents on the dollar for what a male player would make in a similarly-level event (top v. top).  That alone should be enough to light a fire under the ladies' collective butts; but it hasn't been. 

The situation shows no signs of resolving into anything better in the long run.  Ratings have gone up all across the board; yeah, there are some more female GMs, but a lot more male GMs have been named during the same period I've been observing things from a distance (about 12 years now).  Female players have some nice money events, but those don't hold a patch to what the top male players are making in a similar event.

The system sucks.  Women, why are you laying down for it?

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Lubomir Kavalek: Tales of Women in Chess

A classic article reviewing some of the most well-known female chessplayers in the world, past and present.  At the very end of the article some games are featured that allow you to click and play through.

Women in Chess: A Few Tales    
Posted: 05/06/2012 5:27 pm

One of the games Kavalek featured is one from the 2004 Olympiad, when GM Susan Polgar led the U.S. Women's Team to a Silver Medal, the first ever medal earned by a U.S. Women's Team.  Polgar also earned, in addition, two individual Gold Medals and an individual Silver Medal for her splendid overall performance. 

This photo is from a comprehensive report on Polgar's 2004 Olympiad performance at Chessbase. 

GM Susan Polgar, left (in cream colored outfit), GM Maia Chiburdanidze, right
(in one of her famous chapeaus), the Game in R6

In this game, Polgar played against another Women's World Chess Champion, GM Maia Chiburdanidze:

Champions come and go and we wish them well. But before they say the final goodbye, we demand another masterpiece. At the 2004 olympiad in Calvia, Spain, Zsuzsa Polgar and Maya Chiburdanidze obliged. Their tactical skills did not diminish with age and they gave us a memorable performance. And again, the square f7 played a major role in Zsuzsa's combination.

Polgar,Zsuzsa - Chiburdanidze,Maya
36th Olympiad w Calvia ESP (6), 20.10.2004

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3 6.Qxc3 c5 7.b4 b6 8.Bb2 d6 9.g4!
(A vintage Polgar! Where others look to increase a small positional advantage, the Polgar sisters go after the king.)

9...Bb7 10.g5 Nh5 11.Rg1 e5 12.Bh3 Nf4 13.Bf5

(Provoking the next mistake.)
13...g6?

(The weakening of the long diagonal allows a beautiful combination. The queen on c3, supported by the bishop on b2, can now "see" as far as the square h8. Developing the knight 13...Nc6 gives black a good game.)

14.Nxe5! Nxe2

(A good idea, but the wrong move-order. Black should have played: 14...Qe7 15.Be4 dxe5 (15...Bxe4 16.Nc6 Nd3+ 17.Kf1+-) 16.Bxb7 and only now 16...Nxe2! 17.Kxe2 Qxb7 18.Qxe5 f6 19.Qe6+ Rf7 20.gxf6 and although white is clearly better, black can still fight.;
After 14...dxe5? 15.Qxe5 f6 16.Qxf4 wins.)

15.Nxf7!!

(Creating mating threats. Wrong would be 15.Kxe2 dxe5 16.Qxe5? Re8.)

15...Nxc3

(After 15...Kxf7 16.Qg7+ Ke8 17.Bf6 white wins; and on 15...Rxf7 16.Qh8 mates.)

16.Nh6+ Kg7 17.Bxc3+ Rf6 18.Bxf6+ Qxf6 19.gxf6+ Kxh6 20.Be6?!

(This wins slowly. Interestingly, Polgar who was drilled in mating finales, missed to swing her rook from a1 to h3, for example: 20.Rb1! gxf5 [20...Bf3 21.Rb3 Bh5 22.Be4 wins; 20...Nc6 21.Rb3 and the rook goes to mate on h3; 20...Nd7 21.Bxd7 wins.] 21.Rb3 and black gets mated.)

20...Nc6 21.Bd5 (The pin.) 21...Rf8 22.f7 Nd8 23.Bxb7 Nxb7 24.Rg3 Rxf7 25.Re3 (The rook made it to the open file.) 25...Nd8 26.b5 (Taking away the square c6.) 26...Rf4 27.d3 d5 28.Re7! (The rook on the 7th rank limits the knight.) 28...dxc4 29.dxc4 Nf7 (After 29...Rxc4 30.Rd1 Rd4 31.Rxd4 cxd4 32.Rxa7 the b6-pawn falls shortly.) 30.Rd1 Ng5 31.Rxa7 Rxc4 32.Ra6 Rc2 33.Rxb6 c4 34.a4 Ra2 35.Ra6 Nf3+ 36.Kf1 Nd2+ 37.Rxd2! (Simplifying into a clearly won rook endgame.) 37...Rxd2 38.Rc6 Rc2 39.b6 Black resigned.

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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Promising 13-Year Old Chess Femme: Rachel G. Gologorsky

From the Miami Herald Online

Miami Beach teen is a chess whiz
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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Quah Seng Sun Hits a Grand Slam on Female Chessplayers

Thank you, Quah Seng Sun, for saying in this article what needs to be said, something long overdue.  You are a brave man!

From The Star Online, Malaysia:

Friday December 10, 2010
Women and chess
Chess
By Quah Seng Sun

Women’s chess is no longer a poor cousin to men’s chess.

MANY years ago, I was asked in a casual conversation my opinion about women’s chess. Can women really play chess as well as men, this friend of mine wanted to know. I was about to answer him but I hesitated.

It wasn’t that I was uncomfortable to give him an immediate answer but somehow, a wild thought raced through my head. Was it Bobby Fischer who once said that he could give a knight handicap in a game against any woman chess player and still win?

Fifty or 60 years ago, many people could very well have laughed with Fischer.

But not today. Anyone who dares to give even a pawn handicap against the top women chess players will be asking for a lot of unnecessary trouble.

You see, women’s chess is no longer a poor cousin to men’s chess. After all, chess as played by men or women is still the same game. Chess still uses the same grey matter “up there” for thinking and evaluation.

Besides, since the days of Pia Cramling and Judit Polgar, who started the trend of women competing in men’s or open tournaments and playing successfully in them, the myth has well been exploded.

To a large extent, the World Chess Federation has made sure that there should no longer be discrimination. A long time ago at the Chess Olympiads, women’s chess teams consisted of only two players and one reserve. Today, there are four players and either one or two reserve players, same as the men’s teams.

Where chess titles are concerned, women chess players have as many opportunities to earn the full chess grandmaster title.

In the past, the highest title they could hope to attain was the woman grandmaster title which today, is about at the same level as an international master.

There’s also the women’s equivalent of the (men’s) world chess championship and since about a week ago, the latest women’s world chess championship is currently going on in Antakya, Turkey.

But unlike the latest men’s world chess championship which was played as a match, the present women’s world chess championship is still run as a knock-out.
The event started off with a 64-player field in the first round and since then, the number of players are halved with each progressive round.

Today is the start of the third round, so there will only be 16 players left. Each of these knock-out rounds are played as a mini-match of two games at normal regulation time control and should tie-break games be required, these are played with rapid chess rules. The sixth round will pit the two final survivors together and they will then play four games to decide the new women’s world chess champion.

I know there are people who favour this type of knock-out event as they feel that it creates more excitement and the defending champion shouldn’t get a free ride to the final round but personally, I would prefer an official challenger to emerge from this knock-out event who would then go on to challenge the defending champion for the title. It makes for more prestige.

Nevertheless, these are the regulations already agreed for this current championship. Perhaps we’ll see a change for the next cycle.

As it stands, there’s always the chance that we may not have Russia’s Alexandra Kosteniuk advancing all the way to the final round.

Kosteniuk is the defending women’s world champion and is the top seed. She got through the first round but there are no results yet for the second round as I write this.

So far, except for the elimination of the eighth seed, Pia Cramling, in the first round, there have been no other surprises among the top seeds.

Also going through to the second round were notable players like India’s Humpy Koneru, China’s Hou Yifan (who lost the final to Kosteniuk in 2008), Bulgaria’s Antoaneta Stefanova (women’s world champion from 2004 to 2006), Ukraine’s Kateryna Lahno, Georgia’s Maya Chiburdanidze (women’s world champion from 1978 to 1991) and Qatar’s Zhu Chen (formerly from China and women’s world champion from 2001 to 2004).

Humpy is the second seed in the championship and Hou is the third seed.

If they proceed through successfully round after round, they should be meeting in the fifth round and one of them will be eliminated.

Want to know more about this women’s world chess championship? You can view the live games at http://wwcc2010.tsf.org.tr/ from 9pm (local time here).
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Given the level of play of today's top female players, there is no excuse for FIDE to continue to run the Women's World Chess Championship as a knock-out event, which has since been discarded as FIDE's preferred option for the Men's World Chess Championship. As has been shown over and over again, anything can - and does - happen over the course of two games plus rapid and blitz play-offs.  That does not necessarily mean that the best players finish at the top and compete against each other for the title.  It's time that FIDE recognize that the Women's title is just as important as the "Open" - that is, the Men's - title, and put them on an equal footing.
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

9 Queens

Reported at Chess Life Online and Alexandra Kosteniuk's blog: Kosteniuk Spreads Holiday Cheer in Tucson December 22, 2009 Move over Santa! Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk spread holiday cheer for 9 Queens students in Tucson, Arizona with her goodwill simultaneous exhibition on December 20. (Image: Three of the young participants in the Kosteniuk simul, by Jeff Smith). What a wonderful thing for GM Kosteniuk to do, and what a boost for the good work 9 Queens is doing. As Jean Hoffman, co-founder and Executive Director of 9 Queens noted in her email letter today to friends and donors, [s]ince 2007, 9 Queens has grown from a single after-school chess club in Tucson, Arizona into a national nonprofit organization serving thousands of at-risk children and women annually.The success of 9 Queens speaks not only to the strength of our organization but also to the need for our programs. From Parkersburg, West Virginia to Brooklyn, New York principals, teachers, and parents from throughout the country have contacted 9 Queens in need of our support. Currently there are over 25 schools, libraries and after-school centers on the 9 Queens waiting list. Here is an article about the work 9 Queens is doing in Tucson, as reported on December 24th in The New York Times: In Tucson, Women and Girls Are Finding a Place at the Chessboard By DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN Published: December 24, 2009 Becca Kinsey, a 39-year-old stage manager in Tucson, has three children, a husband and very little free time. But nearly every Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to noon, she goes to the Coffee X Change at Grant Road and Campbell Avenue to meet a group of women and play chess. “I never had an interest,” Mrs. Kinsey said of the game. “It always gave me headaches.” That changed a few months ago, when she finally learned to play. Now, she said, “people will say, ‘Come do this,’ and I’ll say: ‘I can’t go to that. I am going to chess on Wednesdays.’ ” Mrs. Kinsey’s chess group has 16 members, all of them women and most of them beginners. They all share an enthusiasm for chess that borders on obsession. The group is an outgrowth of a nonprofit organization in Tucson called 9 Queens, started in 2007 by Jean Hoffman, 29, and Jennifer Shahade, 28, a two-time United States women’s chess champion. The group’s name comes from the maximum number of queens that one player can have on the board. (While theoretically possible, it has never been known to happen.) Ms. Hoffman, who lives in Tucson, said the goal of 9 Queens was to encourage more girls and women, as well as students from low-income families, to take up chess. Girls make up a small fraction of the children who play in chess tournaments, and women competitors are even rarer. Bill Hall, executive director of the United States Chess Federation, estimated that fewer than 5 percent of the federation’s members are women over 21. “My dad, my grandfather, my brother played,” Mrs. Kinsey said, “and it was something that the girls never did.” To help achieve its goal, 9 Queens began holding monthly workshops limited to girls and women to create a more nurturing environment. “In the chess clubs that I have that are coed, the boys will be screaming out the right answer, and they will be fighting,” Ms. Hoffman said. The instructors are, with one exception, also women. In her effort to publicize the workshops, Ms. Hoffman asked Margo Burwell, 60, a retired college art instructor, to design a poster. Ms. Burwell used a picture of Marcel Duchamp, the Dada artist who was a passionate chess player, and a quotation from him: “I am still a victim of chess. It has all the beauty of art — and much more. It cannot be commercialized. Chess is much purer than art in its social position.” After she was done, Ms. Burwell, whose son played chess but who did not play herself, decided to go to a workshop. “It was good enough for Marcel, so perhaps it was good for me,” she said. At the first workshop Ms. Burwell attended, girls and women were taught the rules and then paired up to play. Ms. Burwell found herself opposite a 5-year-old girl. “At one point, she captured my queen, and she laughed and laughed, and I thought, ‘I better buckle down,’ ” Ms. Burwell said. After 45 minutes, she won. Ms. Burwell found that playing every month was not enough. She asked some women if they would be interested in meeting once a week. The women have different reasons for joining. Mrs. Kinsey wanted to be able to play with her 8-year-old daughter, Angela, who competes in chess tournaments. “I wanted to learn myself so I can be more of a support system for her,” she said. “I wanted to actually be able to play a game with her and actually be competitive.” Mrs. Kinsey said the Wednesday group had not just helped her improve her game. “I really like the ladies,” she said. “Some of the ladies have kids that play tournaments, and we’ll talk about how hard do you push them. It’s sort of like a support group.” Martha Underwood, 47, an assistant professor of education at the University of Arizona, said that even her children, Aiya, 11, and Zack, 9, who compete in scholastic chess tournaments, are startled by their mother’s newfound zeal for the game. “They are kind of annoyed with me because they are like, ‘That is all you do,’ ” Ms. Underwood said. She said that she and the rest of the group hoped that playing chess would have benefits. “We all talk about how we want to do this to stave off Alzheimer’s, instead of The New York Times crossword puzzle,” she said. While the women are collegial, they are also competitive. Ms. Underwood has played in two tournaments, including one run by 9 Queens. Ann Price, an architect newly laid off from her firm, said she had been a black belt in tae kwon do, but had to give it up after injuring her back five years ago. Chess, she said, was a good substitute. “One of the things that I missed about tae kwon do was the strategic way of thinking,” Ms. Price said. “The problem-solving is something that I did in my profession.” Sometimes, men at the Coffee X Change ask to play chess with the women and are welcomed. But there are no plans to make them a formal part of the group. Some members of the group say that learning chess with women who have become friends has given them a confidence that seems to spill over into the rest of their lives. “I tend to be talkative,” Ms. Underwood said. “I’m trying to be more thoughtful instead.”
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Monroi Founder to Give Talk

Montreal, Canada (RPRN) 10/21/09 — Brana Malobabic-Giancristofaro, MonRoi Inc Founder is coming to the Montreal Girl Geek Dinners Event to present a case study of MonRoi Inc launch and operations. She will touch on how to develop ideas into a business, some of the most common start-up mistakes, and some unique ways to grown your business. Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 6pm to 7:30pm Capriccio Restaurant, 17 rue Notre-Dame West, Montreal Free, open to public, men and women interested in technology We encourage guests to Register for Free on Facebook About the Presenter Brana Malobabic-Giancristofaro, B.Sc.EE, runs a Technology Company that Webcasts Chess Tournaments Live Around the World. Prompted by a lifelong passion for chess, Brana founded MonRoi, a high technology and Internet company that specializes in patented live chess webcast system and wireless devices for score keeping. An expert in new technology development and marketing, she oversees day-to-day operations of the company, which enables spectators to follow chess tournaments in real-time on the Internet. Brana established and executed the world's first International Women's Chess Grand Prix, recognizing women in chess. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. She is affiliated with the Economic Development of Saint Laurent Investment Advisory Committee and volunteers mentoring entrepreneurs who are starting their own businesses. For her innovations she received the Alpha Gala Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Saint Laurent. Brana appeared on numerous TV News and was featured in engineering, business and chess magazines worldwide. She has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in new technology. For more information about MonRoi™ Inc, visit http://monroi.com/ Contact: brana@monroi.com About the Girl Geek Dinners Montreal Girl Geek Dinners are an offshoot of the London Girl Geek Dinners, started by Sarah Blow. The goal of these get-togethers is to make technology accessible and interesting to all age groups and all people, particularly women. These monthly events are aimed at providing a welcoming atmosphere and a platform for learning in an informal environment. They are always held in pubs, bars or restos and there is usually a speaker (or several) who talk for a short while on a chosen subject for the evening. Contacts: tanyamcginnity@yahoo.com; sarah.severson@gmail.com; Media Contact Name: Zeljka Malobabic Media E-mail: zeljka@monroi.com Media Phone: (514) 332-2462 Media Web Address: http://www.monroi.com Company Contact Name: MonRoi Inc Company E-mail: info@monroi.com Company Phone: (514) 332-2462 Company Web Address: http://www.monroi.com
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Friday, October 16, 2009

New FIDE Undertakings to Promote Women's Chess

I just saw this at GM Alexandra Kosteniuk's blog. She is co-chairperson of the FIDE Women's Commission along with GM Susan Polgar. Two proposals submitted by GM Kosteniuk have been approved by the FIDE Presidential Board: KOSTENIUK CAISSA AWARD PROPOSAL From the Co-Chair of the Fide Commission For Women's Chess Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk: FIDE CAISSA AWARD The CAISSA AWARD will be awarded annually, every year in the Spring to the best female player of the preceding year. The voting will consist of 2 stages. The first phase: Any women chess player, rated above 2300 ELO, who played more than 10 rated games in the previous year (for example 2009), can apply to get this award, by sending her application to alexandra@kosteniuk.com with cc to: "WOM Fierro Martha" before February 10 of the voting year (for example 2010). She should indicate her best results of the previous year (for example 2009) and number of rated games and exact results of each tournament played. The second phase: Out of the valid received applications, candidates shall be proposed by the members of the FIDE women’s commission based on a voting system (each member of the women's commission can suggest up to three candidates, with the 1st place getting 5 points, 2nd place getting 3 points and the third place getting 1 point, by email to alexandra@kosteniuk.com with cc to: "WOM Fierro Martha" ) . The winner will be the player who gets the greatest number of points. The co-chairmen will count the number of points for each candidate and will propose the winner to the PB before the 1st quarter Presidential Board of each year. The PB shall review the results, decide in case of a tie, and after the result is known, the winner of the Caissa award is to be notified and announced officially by FIDE. The decision of the PB will be final. The winner is awarded with the FIDE CAISSA AWARD (for example 2010) and thus named the best female player of the year (for example 2009). Prizes: Grand Prize: 1,000 euros and a statuette. (The prize comes out of the FIDE Commission on Women's Chess) Winners may receive additional prizes if sponsors come forward. Winners must sign an affidavit and license and will be responsible for paying any taxes they may owe on the prize. KOSTENIUK GOLDEN ORGANIZER PROPOSAL From the Co-Chair of the Fide Commission For Women's Chess Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk: PROPOSAL FOR NEW YEARLY FIDE GOLDEN WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT ORGANIZER AWARD. The organizers of tournaments with any time control and any system (except the official FIDE tournaments such as the World Championships, Chess Olympiads and so on) that have been held at least 3 times before the voting year with 10 or more female chess players took part in the tournament of the voting year can apply to get this award. In order to receive this award the organizers should send an application with the following information: 1. Name, place, dates and rules of the tournament. 2. Number of female participants that took part in the event. 3. Number and quantity of prizes for the female participants and other financial conditions. RULES FOR FIDE GOLDEN WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT ORGANIZER AWARD 2010. Submission should be sent to alexandra@kosteniuk.com with cc to:"WOM Fierro Martha" starting from January 1, 2010 until February 20, 2010, about qualifying tournaments that took place in 2009. By submitting an entry, each contestant agrees to the rules of the contest. Who may enter: The organizers of the tournaments with any time control and system (except the official FIDE tournaments such as the World Championships, Chess Olympiads, etc.) that have been held at least 3 times before and including 2009 with 10 or more female chess players took part in the tournament can apply to get this award. Entry deadline: All entries must be received by February 20, 2010. Judging: The winner shall be proposed by the members of the FIDE women’s commission to the FIDE Presidential Board based on a voting majority system. The name of the winner shall be announced by PB of FIDE on the 1st quarter Presidential Board of each year. The decision of the PB will be final. The winner will be notified and awarded with the FIDE GOLDEN WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT ORGANIZER AWARD 2010. The organizer of this event will receive a prize of 1,000 euros (from the budget of the FIDE comission on women's chess) which he/she should use for increasing the prize fund for women chess players in his/her next tournaments.
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As I understand it, players who meet the requirements can submit applications for 2009 events for the Caissa Award and 2009 organized events that meet the requirements will be eligible for the Golden Women's Tournament Organizer Award to be awarded in 2010. Please read the entire post for further information at GM Alexandra Kosteniuk's blog.
I wonder if Susan Polgar's tournaments for girls (open and invitational) might qualify? Not sure about the US Women's national CC as that may fall under the FIDE exception. Also not sure about the Kasparov event for girls held every year. Would state qualification championships for girls qualify? What about the U.S. Women's Open?
I hope the end result will be that more organizers put together tournaments for female players.
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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Not Just for 'Nerds'

Story from The Pendulum Elon University's Studen Newspaper September 9, 2009 Chess club encourages community involvement, female participation by Sarah Costello, September 8, 2009 Brows glisten and fingers twitch during the final stages of a long battle between two passionate competitors. Tension is evident as the board quickly becomes vacant of pieces. Eyes widen and collected breaths are released with the subtle tap of a fallen king. Checkmate. Intense competition between Elon chess players can be expected every week at Chess Club meetings, when players of all ages, backgrounds and levels of ability challenge and learn from one another. "Our club is kind of unique because we have total community involvement," said Aaron Peeks, associate professor of sociology and the adviser of the Elon Chess Club. Students, faculty, staff and even children attend the Tuesday evening meetings for instruction, as well as friendly competition. "Chess is about puzzles," Peeks said. "If you love puzzles, you'll love chess."Peeks has played chess since high school and temporarily sacrificed his undergraduate studies to compete in national tournaments his freshman year. He said he loves the beauty of the game and the ability to relate chess to life. "Chess keeps my brain sharp," Peeks said. "Chess provided me with a level of self-control. It's made me a better planner." One of Peeks's goals as the faculty adviser is to shatter existing stereotypes that often accompany chess. "Chess is (often) seen as a nerdy game for geeks," he said. He advocates that chess is not solely for individuals with high IQs, impressive GPAs or a collection of pocket pens. Peeks also wants to interest more women in the game. With female representation at less than 10 percent in national tournaments, Peeks said he believes it is important to encourage women to play a game often perceived as explicitly masculine. "There's a more feminine side to chess," Peeks said. "There's artistic beauty and motion, but a lot of females think they can't grasp it." Jennifer Shahade, a two-time American Women Chess Champion and the author of "Chess Bitch: Women in the Ultimate Intellectual Sport," is attempting to combat misconceptions by empowering women and girls through the art of chess. Shahade is the co-founder of 9 Queens, a nonprofit organization in Tuscon, Ariz., which provides chess instruction to girls and youth in the inner city. "It's important to teach chess to girls and women because chess improves confidence and rewards healthy aggression," Shahade said. "For cultural reasons, these are areas in which women often don't feel as comfortable as men. Chess is a medium where boys and girls can compete on an equal playing field." Peeks, a self-proclaimed feminist, said he believes women should have equal opportunity to participate in chess and would like to interest more women in the game. Peeks hopes to attract more male and female students by spreading the word through public tournaments and a "Beat the Professor Challenge" Sept. 22 at College Coffee. Students who can beat Peeks will receive a $10 gift certificate. "Come to chess club," Peeks said. "It's uncanny how chess can improve academic skills. Research shows kids who play chess have higher GPAs."
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Thursday, December 4, 2008

Could Women Save Chess?

Every day I visit a circuit of chess websites to check on the latest news. Chess fans already know that at the Dresden Chess Olympiad, the FIDE General Assembly approved changes to the current Grand Prix chess cycle in mid-cycle! This caused much consternation and frustration, and anger, but is FIDE doing business as usual. The one thing you can always rely upon is that you cannot ever ever ever rely upon FIDE to stick to a contract or keep its word. It took a few days for the truth to surface (despite some earlier hints about sponsorship problems at some chess news websites, nothing had been confirmed). Now it has been confirmed by a letter from FIDE itself. The reason for the change in the Grand Prix cycle - introducing a whole new event of 8 players which instantly reduces winning the Grand Prix and the World Cup to an "also ran" status instead of the two players (Grand Prix and World Cup) facing off against each other and the winner of the match facing off against the World Champion - is because of money. As is well known by now, the Doha sponsor of the Grand Prix event scheduled for December, 2008 withdrew, and FIDE stepped in hastily to organize the event in Elista, Khan Kirzan's home town (and presumably put up the prize money, too). Now a second Grand Prix sponsor has withdrawn (Montreux - sp?) - allegedly due to financial problems. Well, when a certain amount of prize money is to be put up for the players' purse IN ADDITION TO 20% ON TOP FOR FIDE AND 5% ON TOP FOR WORLD CHESS, one can only wonder what the hell is going on and marvel at the fact that ANY SPONSORS whatsoever were found for the Grand Prix! Okay - fast forward to tonight. I arrived home after a long had day at the office and visited Susan Polgar's blog to see that GM Magnus Carlsen has withdrawn from the remainder of the Grand Prix cycle. Geez! So then I visit Michael Greengard's "Daily Dirt" chess blog at Chess Ninja to see what the regulars are saying about this latest development (under the topic "FIDE not-so-Grand-Prix") - but the news was too new, not enough opportunity for people to post about it much when I visited earlier this evening. But the conversation was interesting, and in particular, this post reverberated: irv replied to comment from guest December 4, 2008 3:22 PM Reply Guest wrote: "Chess needs to give up the idea that such rich tournaments are sustainble." That's the bottom line. The sick, never-ending quest, chimeric quest for perfect play has led to the death of chess. The first ones to go were the chess clubs. Online chess is doing bad: a few years ago you could get a game on the spot at ICC or Playchess; nowadays, you have to wait a few minutes for a game to materialize. Let's face it: chess at the top has become excruciatingly painful to watch. Too mechanical. Too dry. Too boring; hell, I wouldn't ACCEPT 50 bucks to watch Svidler-Leko, for God's sake. Less money and more daring, if imperfect chess, is the solution. Let players relax a bit. Win a bit more, lose a bit more, enjoy a lot more. Force players to play to a decisive result. What's wrong with a top player making $15.000 in a couple of weeks (all expenses paid for by the organizer) of leisure chess at 2 hours per game, one game per day? If tournament organizers could get half a dozen of the top 20 players in the world (along with 6 up-and-coming tigers) to enter a tournament that can be run with $100.000, many sponsors could be found. Bring life back to chess. Is chess "dying?" Well, I don't know about that - but I do know one way it could be jazzed up with the right promotion and some money to back it - just like some very smart people backed internet and televised Poker a few years ago... I couldn't help myself - I responded - WOMEN! Women chessplayers! I mean, come on darlings! Irv thinks "more daring, imperfect chess" is a possible solution to the slow death of chess and that really describes the chess that about 90% of the female chess pros out there on the circuit play today. It has often been noted by chess "fans" (99.4% male) that "women's chess" is more exciting than a lot of the games played between the elite players (Judit Polgar notwithstanding). Women's chess games generally are not too dry, too mechanical, too boring. Women play "fighting chess" and will battle on and on and on, long past the point where a male player will concede a draw against another male player. Just a few days ago at USCF's website I read about an 111 move head-banger that GM Jesse Kraai played against a chess femme - WFM Bayaraa Zorigt, a player who barely registered on my awareness of chess femmes. The point is obvious. Who IS this woman who played a GM to 111 moves before finally succumbing (probably due to physical and mental fatigue)??? That is a woman chessplayer worthy of notice. He may be right - and I may be crazy. Win a bit more, lose a bit more, enjoy a lot more.
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Saturday, November 1, 2008

The Women Behind the Champion

'I’m not the only woman behind Anand’s success' Ankita Pandey and Vijay Tagore Sunday, November 02, 2008 03:34 IST (from DNAIndia.com) How did Viswanathan Anand do it? Ankita Pandey and Vijay Tagore try to find the secret while chatting with wife Aruna, who is also his manager. Excerpts: You should know this best. What it takes to be a world champion? Lots of hard work and patience and the ability to rise above oneself. Anand consciously keeps away from controversy and politics. At times this has been very expensive for his career. But rather than complaining Anand would try to just play his chess. For example, in 2002 there was a plan to have a world championship and in that scheme only player who got a bad deal was Anand. He was unfairly kept out. It was a very difficult moment for us. We went for a holiday and came back and Anand said the only thing I can do is play my chess and enjoy it. He went on to win two chess Oscars in 2003 and 2004. This was some of the happiest moments of our life. When did the Bonn preparation start? Before Mexico we understood that Kramnik would have the privilege to get a match irrespective of what happened in there. It didn’t feel right but Anand said let me win Mexico and only then do I need to worry. He played some of his best chess in Mexico and won. Then within an hour the talk about the Kramnik match started. I really felt bad but Anand said I would like to play a match and not have a career where I haven’t got the chance and moreover I want to do something different. “Not for winning the match but when I look back at my career I want to feel proud that I played d4.” He risked and played something. It was when Anand said this, it really impacted me. It was at that moment we decided that we would give Bonn all that it takes and the whole Team Anand rose to the occasion. In Anand’s case, he never got a privilege and never tried to reason with his critics. He just said I will play and win and the rest takes care of itself. It is a quality that is very special not only in a champion but in a person. Does the privilege of being the world champion come with a baggage? Of course it raises the level. But Anand has been among the Top 3 since 1996. So he has been able to keep the pressure and play well. He is someone who doesn’t get too influenced by ratings and numbers. He likes to enjoy the game. He will try out different formats. He will try new variations take risks. In 2001, he understood that if you tried to hold on to your title you lose it some other way. You have to have the confidence of rising up to the challenge constantly. You are his manager. How do you manage his affairs? It was just a matter of convenience. Anand has a professional manager in Chennai who takes care of his endorsements and appearances. I take care of his tournaments and all the travel. In Bonn we had a close team of hans Walter and Frederic and myself. Our job was first to make a list of what Anand wanted and see that we provided him with that. At no point was Anand to find that he needed something. In fact, the negotiations started within 24 hours after Mexico and from the beginning we tried to get conditions that we thought were necessary. Keeping in mind that the match was organised by some of Kramnik’s closest friends and the organisation had members who were also Kramnik’s managers. We had to work doubly hard so that Anand felt comfortable. How difficult is managing a world champion’s affairs? It is fun. The greetings and wishes. Sometime people say why couldn’t he win before we can’t take the tension. There is a lot of travel a lot of fun. Anand and me have an ability to laugh off most things. So it’s nice at the end of the day when the whole team sat together and told each other how the three weeks had passed. It makes everything worth it. What are your duties and responsibilities?Basically putting Anand in a bubble. His only focus is chess.The logistics of travel, press and other obligations are just taken off his back.How do you handle his moods — post win and post defeat?Victory is always easy to handle. But in Bonn when he went 3 points up we understood that Kramnik would now show his true prowess and we expected at least one game could go badly. Before every game we would ensure Anand was confident at the board. His team put in an extraordinary effort. They would sleep only when Anand played so they gave 100 per cent. Before the game I would just tell him to be calm. How did he handle the 10th game loss? After he lost his 10th game I went back stage and Anand looked very calm. The only thing he said I should nail this in the next game. The team also just decided to forget the game. They had expected one game at least where Kramnik would get in his novelty and the move Re1 was very difficult to solve on the board. In fact we were extremely calm. Normally when Anand loses, the first hour is the most difficult and then you realise that you have to play the next day. But saying that the last three days were difficult. We found it difficult to sleep and understood that the half point meant a lot more. How does he cope with the criticism and the praise? He generally takes both well. He doesn’t really bother too much about what people say. At the end of the day you have to be happy with yourself. The rest doesn’t matter. During the match he hadn’t checked mail or the internet. So after winning he enjoyed a bit of ego surfing! Is there any particular defeat that rankles him? Anand has a terrific memory but he also has this ability to block out memories that are painful. Many times if you ask him about to something that was painful he would say he doesn’t remember much. Is there any particular win that you both remember and enjoy? Every win is special. Ok Bonn is big. Finally, you are the woman behind Anand’s success? There have been many women! First Anand’s mother who introduced him to the game. Then there is Nieves perea. She was Anand’s de facto Spanish mother. She doted on Anand more than her own children. When Anand was alone in Europe she would ensure Anand never missed home. When I married Anand and went to Spain she became my de facto mother in law too. We really miss her and it’s a pity she died in 2004 and could not see Anand climb the highest rungs of his career. Anand and me are a team. We try to be there for each other. All of us family and friends ensure that Anand feels comfortable in the event but the hard work and the chess is Anand’s. If he didn’t do that, the jigsaw puzzle would be incomplete.
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Sunday, July 27, 2008

Barbados Seeks to Develop Women's Chess

From the BarbadosAdvocate.com Chess pushing to revive the number of ladies on the board Web Posted - Sun Jul 27 2008 Vice President of the Barbados Chess Federation (BCF) Rohan Waithe has plans he is eager to set in motion, and one of them is the development of women's chess in Barbados. Speaking to Barbados Advocate Sports, Waithe, who is also the Member Development officer with the association, pointed out, " For the immediate future, we will be looking to revive the Barbados Ladies Chess Association, with the aim of making tangible efforts at increasing the number of females playing.The Inter-school girls has not yet been played this year, but it is vital if we are seriously looking at taking ladies chess to a higher level. We have many bright sparks among the junior girls, and with sustained coaching and high-level competition, this should augur well for the future." He noted, "We have a vibrant inter-school programme with over 300 students from primary and secondary school taking part in this years inter-school tournament, along with 75 players in the under-12 national championships. There are several juniors who came through this programme who have done well regionally like Justin Blackman, Martyn Del Castilho, Shamel Howell and Alex Jackman. However, what we need to do is get the transition from the Junior ranks to senior ranks. In the past, we had several clubs in various communities, so that outside of school, juniors had an opportunity to play chess with seniors. We need to urgently revive those community clubs." "We will soon have a big international junior tournament, the Sagicor Barbados Junior Open Tournament starting August 11. We are also sending Male and Female teams to the World Chess Olympiad in Dresden Germany in November, he added. "Over the next few years, our goal has to be producing another International Master, along with Kevin Denny. This means providing training for our best juniors and seniors. We would need to have an ongoing coaching programme probably sourcing coaching from overseas. To sustain this development we need to look at regional tournaments such as the Pan-American and Central American Tournaments. This is essential as we need to play high level chess constantly," Waithe argued. Waithe acknowledged that hosting tournaments as well as travelling even regionally is costly. "Naturally funding is also a major concern, we are grateful for the assistance of the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), National Sports Council (NSC), and corporate Barbados." (AP)
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Chess Life June 2008 Edition

This month's edition of Chess Life is wrapped in a ballot for USCF delegates who will represent each state in 2009 and 2010. I don't recognize the names of the four people running for delegates in my state (the 2 top vote getters will become our delegates). Trying to find information on these people is even worse than searching for a needle in a haystack - but then, I do that for a living. There was an interesting "letter to the editor" this month: Women in chess It is with great disdain I read the sidebar, "What is the USCL" (April Chess Life, page 30). I cannot begin to express the insulting, offensive, feelings overwhelming me after reading that if teams have a female member they are granted "extra" points. Regardless of the amount awarded it's not right. If a woman is a good enough player to make the rating to join the team she should be considered for her ability and not her gender. Personally, I am about to embark on entering my first nationals chess tournament this summer. And though I cannot beat every male member of the USCF, I can hold my own over a chesboard. Somewhere in last month's edition, your magazine mentioned trying to invite women to become interested in chess; articles like this are not going to help your cause. - Betty L. Cooper Elma, Washington Here is the response, which Chess Life asked IM Greg Shahade (commissioner of the USCL) and the article's author, to provide: The reason that female players get extra points on teams is to encourage teams to use females on their roster. It's clear that the image of chess gains whenever more women are involved, especially given the 90%+ ratio of men to women. We understand quite clearly that a woman who is rated 2200 is as strong as a man who is rated 2200. The only purpose of this rule is to ensure as much female participation as possible. While these bonus points are a relatively small amount, they definitely encourage teams to go out of their way to put females on their roster. In fact many of the top female players in the national have been involved in the USCL. Because of the flexibility these bonus points give to some teams, it also means they are involved in the matches more than they would be allowed to, if they didn't receive this small bonus. All of this is good for the league, as fans really enjoy watching women play. Despite these bonuses, the league is still overwhelmingly male. Liz Vicary, who has written several pieces for Chess Life and Chess Life Online, was also asked for her thoughts: I always find it hard to explain to people, especially non-chessplayers, why women have separate events or are treated differently in the chess world. Theoretically, it would be fantastic if this wan't necessary. However, the reality is that very few women play and organizers help the game greatly when they encourage underrepresented groups to participate more. To reupdiate a possible solution just because it suggests the problem exists doesn't help anyone. What exactly should be done about the lack of women depends on which specific goals you want ot achieve, but offering teams incentives for fielding women seems like it has been very effective. New York had three women on its team last year Baltimore as [Katerine] Rohonyan, Miami had [Yulia] Cardona, and last year's big winner, Dallas, played Bayaaa Zorigt frequently. I don't think there's any need to be offended by someone who's honestly and effectively trying to be part of the solution. My take: I agree. I agree. I agree.
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Monday, May 26, 2008

The Kings of New York

From Michael Weinreb's The Kings of New York, this is from the chapter "The Women in the Room." (The photo is 2003 U.S. Women's Chess Champion Anna Hahn, from an event in March, 2002.)

Anna Khan was sixteen years old and the reigning women's chess champion of Latvia when she enrolled at Murrow High School, the latest pubescent prodigy to arrive in Brooklyn from a distant corner of the crumbling Soviet empire. This was in 1993, ten years after Eliot Weiss founded the school's chess club and a few months after it won its first national championship. And for reasons entirely beyond Weiss's control, Anna Khan was the first female ever to compete on his traveling team.

Anna Khan would lead Murrow to two more national championships, in 1993 and 1994. Eventually, after changing her name to Anna Hahn, she won the U.S. Women's Championship in 2003 and earned the title of WIM, which is the abbreviation used for a "Women's International Master," a less stringent title than "International Master," and one that many of the best male players in the world deride as a second-class designation. On a Web site that archives past games from top players, the comments under Hahn's entry and photograph are a catalog of puerilities ("Anna Hahn can mate me any day. Growl.") But then, this is the way it has always been. Since the inception of competitive chess, the upper eschelons of the game have reeked of sexism, and women who dare intrude upon this sanctity are often treated with as much subtlety as if they'd wandered into the back room at Scores. "Guys aren't going to stand around and watch a guy's game because he's a guy," Bruce Pandolfini says. "Maybe if he's Bobby Fischer, but not for any other reason. But that's not why they stand around women. And if they say it's for any other reason, they're lying."

Forty-five years earlier, when a U.S. women's champion named Lisa Lane drew a sudden barrage of media attention (she was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and was profiled in Newsweek and The New York Times Magazine, which described her as "comely" and "shapely"), Fischer, an equal-opportunity bigot, dismissed her and her entire sex with a barrage of insults. "They can't concentrate, they don't have stamina, and they aren't creative," he said of female chess players. "They're all fish." And that attitude didn't cease with Fischer: in 2002, Garry Kasparov told the Times of London that "chess is a mixture of sport, psychological warfare, science, and art," and that "when you look at all these components, man dominates. Every single component of chess belongs to the areas of male domination."

Of the top players in the world, only one, Hungarian Judit Polgar, is female, and fewer than ten of the world's 950 international grandmasters are women. [This information is somewhat dated.] Some efforts are being made to alter this: in recent years, Kasparov's own foundation has sponsored an all-girls national championship. But there remains a consensus among many of the best male players that this imbalance exists for a reason, that women are not wired for chess in the same way as men, that they they are, by nature and through societal pressure, more social creatures, and that they would prefer to interact with others than be locked in a room by themselves, poring over esoteric middle-game theory. Which is why most of these girls, when they reach the age of twelve or thirteen, an age that Bruce Pandolfini calls "crucial" to one's development as a chess player, simply fade away. Which is why approximately ninety-seven percent of competitive chess players in the United States happen to be male.

Of the thirty-five participants in the high-school varsity section at the city championships, two were girls. One of them was Anna Ginzburg, who came up through the Chess-in-the Schools program and landed one of those coveted spots at Stuyvesant High School. Ginzburg wears wire-rimmed glasses and has a tangle of thick brown hair and a penchant for feminine accessories, like her "Mrs. Affleck" tote bag. On the back of her Chronos digital clock, she's written her name in permanent marker, dotting the I with a flower and underlining the whole thing with a feminine flourish. when she was younger, she was painfully shy, but now she's gotten used to it, to being out-numbered and overlooked. At times, she is able to assimilate into this boys' world, beating them at cards and surprising them over the board and returning their banter when necessary. (Anna's rating is 1656, about the same as Oscar's whom she defeated at cities after an overconfident Oscar hung a rook). But the worst part, she says, is that when she travels to tournaments, she has so few people with whom she can share a hotel room. In that sense, she is very much on her own.

Because there is such disparity in numbers, the women who break through to competitive chess, the women who can manage to thrive amid a sea of testosterone, tend to be unique and forceful personalities. Some, like Elizabeth Vicary, admit that they thrive on the attention (one Russian women's GM, Alexandra Kosteniuk, has posed for so many risque photo shoots that she's been called "the Anna Kournikova of chess"). [Actually, Kosteniuk is a GM who just happens to be a woman]. Many say they've never felt discriminated against, and that if anything, it's just the opposite: men are so deferential, so cowed by their presence, that their brains often seize up and start melting when they play. Adults turn into randy adolescents. They make silly moves they would never make against other men, and when they are called on these things, they attribute their carelessness to the sex of their opponent: Against a man, I would never make such a move. "In most games, I am thinking about girls for fifty to seventy-five percent of the time, another fifteen percent goes to time management, and with what's left over I am calculating," grandmaster Alex Shabalov once admitted to Jennifer Shahade, the strongest female player ever to be born in this country.
* * * * * * *

I'll bet Shabalov never figured those words would be immortalized in such a way. Har! Oooohhhh, Alex, Mr. Ladies' Man.
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Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The Latest Chess Femme News

Hola darlings! Here's the latest Chess Femme News (April 2, 2008).
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Thursday, May 24, 2007

A Woman Who Made A Difference

As so often happens when I'm conducting online research, I came across this article about a chess femme of whom I've never heard while doing research on a totally different subject! I don't know how many people read it when it was first published, or how many people will read it here; I'm trying to find out more about the lady. Her story, I think, speaks volumes about the kind of lady she is. The article was originally published in 2005 at the "signonsandiego.com" website: Player was a trailblazer in women's chess By Michelle DeCrescenzoUNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER August 19, 2005 SOLANA BEACH – Alina Markowski delved into chess in the 1950s, at a time when women in the sport were uncommon. She heard remarks such as "You're a good player, for a girl." On occasion, she said, "You could see, if a player lost to me, how disgusted he was that he had lost to a woman."This stoked a fire within her to promote women in chess through writing articles, organizing women's teams and tournaments and volunteering time to help a number of chess organizations as secretary, treasurer and more. The 95-year-old Solana Beach resident's chess stories include the shortest win on record, a tale she volunteers with a chuckle. She said her competitor refused to play against a woman during a tournament in Milwaukee in 1973. He was faced with disqualification if he failed to make at least one move. After he sat down to make his move and then left, Markowski earned the win and boosted her ratings. All that changed, she said, when she moved to Escondido in 1975 and joined the North County Chess Club, where she was warmly received by members. "Usually when people get to be 65, they stop studying chess," said Michael Nagaran, the club's president. "She never stopped. She tried to learn as much as she could." Nagaran estimates he has played up to 100 games with Markowski. "She would always say something positive whether she won the game or lost the game," he said. "And she was always ready for another game." Markowski said that when she's playing, the game takes precedence over friendships. "You play for blood," she said. "But when the game is over with, you can congratulate your opponent." Markowski has played an integral role in bringing players – especially female players – together for tournaments. "As a chess player, I'm average, but my strong point was organizing," Markowski said. "I was most happy when I was organizing the women's teams." She recruited local female players to organize the first regional chess tournament for women. She was an active board member and lifetime member of the Southern California Chess Federation, and wrote articles on women and chess for the organization's publication, Rank & File. As well as belonging to the North County Chess Club, Markowski has been a member of the San Diego Chess Club. She has reached chess players through the mail as well. She has been active in correspondence chess, in which moves are sent by mail between two players. Markowski served as captain of a women's team for an international correspondence chess tournament. She chose the best five players from the United States to compete in a game that lasted several years. Markowski was introduced to postal chess by her husband, who died from cancer in 1971. During the end of his life, he was an active postal chess player, since he was no longer able to attend tournaments. After 30 years of involvement in the local chess community, Markowski played her last tournament game in June, and the North County Chess Club held a retirement party for her. Nagaran called her the "driving force" behind organizing the tournaments and said she will be greatly missed. When she reflects upon her years of dedication to chess, she said, "I look back with pleasure on them." I put a piece together on Ms. Markowski at Goddesschess.
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