Why are chess tournaments segregated by gender if men and women are equally smart?

Question

NamerOfStars · Accepted Answer

For the same reason the mastery levels are 200 ELO points lower: tournament-level chess pieces are made of solid lead, or possibly depleted uranium, and it's unfair to be able to expect women to pick them up and move them as easily as men can.

That sentence sounds incredibly idiotic, right? The truth is even stupider: it's so women don't get discouraged and quit, because we need more women at the highest levels because... well, no one's ever been able to give me a legitimate reason why. And encouraging them to develop their skills and improve their playing is just "misogynistic", somehow.

If I was a female chess player, I'd be completely unable to take FIDE seriously because of this (I say that because I'm NOT a female chess player, and I still can't, and I don't think that would change my assessment). But I'd also be damned insulted- it's literally being completely open about your tokenism, and not just implying, but outright stating that women are not only not good enough to compete, but not emotionally mature enough to accept that some people are better than them at certain things. For all the decrying I hear of "the participation trophy generation", this is it being forced.

For an added bonus, they kicked out Maria and Anna Muzychuk, sisters who are both grandmasters (high enough to be real, even if they aren't given the formal title), because they refused to sign a letter calling for Russian and Belarusan players to be banned. Because it's TOTALLY the responsibility of chess players to manage their government's horrible decisions. I mean, at least Paul Morphy and Bobby Fischer were entertaining in their insanity; this is just being asinine.

Weapon77 · Accepted Answer

Because male and female IQs are distributed differently. Let's say about 64% of women are between 85 and 115 IQs, about 15% are between 115 and 130 IQs, and only about 3% are above 130 IQs. Men, in contrast would have about 50% of IQs between 85 and 115, 20% of IQs between 115 and 130, and 5% of IQs above 130.

TLDR: men have more extremes in intelligence while women have less deviation in intelligence. Basically, there are more male geniuses and idiots than there are women. There are far more extremely skilled male chess players than there are femeale players of the same skill level, and there are really no female chess players as good as the top 1% of men.

Subarugirl · Accepted Answer

The reason for a gender split in chess is to encourage more women to compete as men greatly outweigh women at all levels of competitive chess. Sometimes a woman playing in an absolute tournament can easily feel out of place if there is a lack of female presence. Women were not allowed to compete until 1937. So, the women's division was created to encourage women to compete. It has absolutely nothing to do with the intelligence like you are implying.

For someone who proclaims themself to be smarter than most people, I am surprised you didn't already know that.

Rania05 · Accepted Answer

Because the decision makers seems to think women are not emotionally mature or with enough mental strength to support playing chess against men and believe it would cause them nervousness

Anonymous · Answer

While men and women have the same average IQ scores, there’s more variance among male scores. More women of average intelligence, more men and the top and bottom end.

In order to play at a high level you have to be good at thinking logically, strategically, noticing patterns.

Most chess players, in fact most highly intelligent people, are on the autism spectrum. Including the women. Beyond a certain point of intelligence there tends to be a trade-off between increased ability to solve logical problems vs social skill. There are also a lot more autistic men than autistic women.

Anonymous · Answer

Because decades and decades of male colonialist oppression has caused their brains to have an unfair advantage and, plus, if a woman of playing against a dominating male, he will have an unfair advantage over her because of all the abuse that the male population has caused to females over the centuries so it is actually more fair and equitable to just give her two queens instead of just one to make up for the Queen that men have slaughtered over the centuries.

Berethor · Answer

Men are more likely to be extremely smart or extremely stupid, women tend to be average.

David_Kek · Answer

Because they're not equally smart on the high end. We're only equally smart on average, not in the extremes. Put simply men have more geniuses and idiots than women do, so it balances out on average.
We have the women's groups, for the same reason we have women's groups in football and society has to use politics to encourage the existence of it. This reason is the fact most women wouldn't compete at all if it wasn't made easy for them. Same as the army, they can't cut the mustered using the men's standard, so we lowered the standard for women to make it easier for them to get in. And hopefully the enemy army in the same token will go easy in them and try to shoot them less often.

In other words, the short answer is equality is just one of those lies you're told as a child, and what you're actually experiencing is the modern day equivalent of chivalry, which is otherwise known as feminism.

HighValue · Answer

Because they'll get angry. Lol j/k

LiamJHayden · Answer

Despite the "Queen's Gambit" even at the extremes in chess, the best men far exceed the best women. If I were female my current rating would make me 32nd in the USA. The Top US female, 400 ELO points higher than I am, if male would be #77, and the #2 female would not even break the male Top 100.

VanillaSalt · Answer

Men and women aren’t equally smart… IQ wise men makeup the smartest and dumbest while women are more averaged amongst their gender.

BlueScorpio · Answer

Mm they are? Didn't know that, anyway isn't that way for every sports category? Like there's swimming for men/women, baseball for men/women, soccer for men/ women etc. 🤔

andreasderjuengere · Answer

By splitting, 'you' can have double the number of ''winners'' = participation trophy.

Nowwwww... what about transgender people, one may wonder :D

Is it ''fair'' to let a former 'man' compete in the 'women's' league?

...

Tracker1958 · Answer

I think all sports should stop being segregated, let the girl compete with the boys, the girls will have to step their game up to have any chance of winning.

jshm2 · Answer

Because the leagues, prizes, and competitions are very different.  Its like asking a female boxer can't take on a male boxer in the heavyweight division.

Cubus · Answer

There is one politician in my country who when discussing "gender equality" always uses an argument that "among 100 best chess players in the world there's only one woman".

purplepoppy · Answer

Judit Polgar has played in men's tournaments but as far as I can see it's just down to tradition.

NathanDavis · Answer

the one woman at chess club in my school... would compete with the men otherwise, she would be on a club of her own

JDAC092299 · Answer

I didn’t know they were but if it is that’s stupid, doesn’t matter what you have between your legs a tactical mind is a tactical mind only those who look ahead have an advantage in chess

SpokenTruth · Answer

I wasn't aware of that but I see it as a good thing because it doesn't create competition between men and women such a feminism has done. Competition between men and women isn't natural nor was it meant to be.

AmeerX · Answer

Because I don't think it would be an equal match 🤣

cloud9vortex1234 · Answer

They're not equal in Chess. Men in general are better Chess Players.

Jccowen77 · Answer

There's a lot of sexist politics in the world of chess. It's quite thick. A lot of those guys are really fucking chauvinistic.

htmndg183 · Answer

Wow. I didn't know chess game tournaments were segregated. Spelling bees aren't segregated. So why chess tourneys?

Alex8736 · Answer

i have never witnessed a Chess tournament but is there a winner take all match with the men's champ face the woman's champ?

HippieVeganJewslim · Answer

I didn’t even know that they are! Maybe it’s because chess is a sport?

Joker_ · Answer

you don't think you could actually beat me in a game of Chess do you

AngryCarl · Answer

They're not (always). Men and women can compete equally in open tournaments.

Fleet7635 · Answer

I really don’t know but I am ok with it because women are allowed to play in men’s I thought

Anonymous · Answer

Google the variability hypothesis.  You’re wrong, sorry.

SpringValley · Answer

It doesn't make sense to me.

TadCurious · Answer

I don't know but that makes no sense.

Miristheiss · Answer

Do they? I don't know.

Anonymous · Answer

Great question.

Chazmatazz269 · Answer

Tradition

DJB72 · Answer

They are?

Sasha0426 · Answer

They are? 😐

motownplayer2000 · Answer

Good question.

Why are chess tournaments segregated by gender if men and women are equally smart?

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Why are chess tournaments segregated by gender if men and women are equally smart?

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