Chess and gender

[Second Summer]

On FIDE's ranking of the top 100 players in the world there are 2 women: on 62. and 67. place. Is this entirely a result of culture, or is there an element of biology that favours men over women in this sport / game?

Ranking here:
https://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml

 

[Andy_T]

Seems there are - and were - a number of women who hold and held Grandmaster titles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_chess_players

I agree, 33 female grandmasters as opposed to 1464 male ones is not a high number.
Personally I would more associate that with the "nerdiness" factor of playing chess, not so much with fundamental differences between male and female brains that make the one more suitable for playing chess....

 

[Blobbenstein]

maybe men don't like to be beaten by women, so they stay away from it. ie women maybe aren't as welcome.?

 

[Second Summer]

maybe men don't like to be beaten by women, so they stay away from it. ie women maybe aren't as welcome.?

You mean the women stay away just to not offend men by beating them? That sounds a bit far-fetched to me! They don't seem to mind wading into most other male-dominated careers, so why not professional chess as well?

I suppose chess does have a rather high nerdiness factor as well as a certain old-fashioned feel to it, so it might not be the kind of sport / game that attracts young women.

 

[Blobbenstein]

You mean the women stay away just to not offend men by beating them? That sounds a bit far-fetched to me! They don't seem to mind wading into most other male-dominated careers, so why not professional chess as well?

well, doesn't playing chess start off as fun, at a chessclub? Maybe the men there don't like being beaten by a woman, so there are less ways for women to get into chess.

 

[Blobbenstein]

yes as well, chessclubs might not like women in the nerdy environment.

My parents were into morris dancing when I was a kid, and there was a huge row in the morris side about whether or not to allow mixed dancing, or have separate sides.

 

[Second Summer]

well, doesn't playing chess start off as fun, at a chessclub? Maybe the men there don't like being beaten by a woman, so there are less ways for women to get into chess.

It might be true for a lot of countries, but I'd hope it wasn't the case in the enlightened and civilized Occident.

 

[Mischief]

I think chess is something you need to be drawn to while quite young in order to excel at it, and there is still a strong societal disposition to not considering chess to be a "feminine" pursuit, much as there still exists an assumption that girls are not good at/interested in mathematics, the "hard" sciences, engineering, etc.

Added to that, IMO it's much more difficult/less socially acceptable for girls to be nerdy.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I always associate the game of chess with old, white men who have hobbies like playing bowls but I just saw that this is apparently a misconception.

http://www.chess.com/news/-misconceptions-about-chess-players

 

[Blobbenstein]

I associate it with students, as people played it in the sixthform, when I went.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I associate it with students, as people played it in the sixthform, when I went.

I know my father taught me how to play when I was a kid but I thought it was a game only little kids or old people played.

 

[beancounter]

Culture

 

[Spang]

For centuries, women have been socialized to do certain things. Chess has never been one of those things.

 

[KLS52]

I played in high school. Not one of top ranking 100, though. Hard to believe, I know. [emoji12]

 

[shyvas]

I also learned to play chess when I was a tot. I didn't think anything of it at the time.

 

[willieaames]

Men and women’s brains are hard-wired very differently, so why should they function in the same way? I don’t have the slightest problem in acknowledging that my wife possesses a much higher degree of emotional intelligence than I do

 

[Second Summer]

Men and women’s brains are hard-wired very differently, so why should they function in the same way? I don’t have the slightest problem in acknowledging that my wife possesses a much higher degree of emotional intelligence than I do

Well, are they actually hard-wired, or is it more of a softer kind of wiring? Brains develop differently if they are in different environments, I believe ...