There is a growing need to end the gender imbalance in chess, where men dominate for many reasons and it is the same old story of biases and stereotypes.
India got its 76th grandmaster recently as Bengaluru’s Pranav Anand occupied the coveted spot at the World Youth Chess Championship in Romania.
While India holds its own spot in the long list of grandmasters from across the world dominated by Russia, there is one glaring fact—lesser female grandmasters. Out of the 76, just two of them are women—Koneru Humpy and D Harika.
Lesser women grandmasters in India can be attributed to factors prevalent globally. Till the end of 2020, the 1600-pool of grandmasters included just 37 women.
Fewer players: Those taking up the game are men— the first and foremost reason for the gender imbalance. The unlikely participation of women is because of societal and cultural pressures.
Stereotypes: Susan Polgar, one of the chess champions and grandmasters, has addressed stereotypes around women players that put them off. If a woman wins the game, it is due to the male opponent having a bad day due to a headache! There is a belief that men are more hardwired to excel in the game! Chess greats like Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov have made comments that pandered to this stereotype, asking women to stay at home or labeling them weaker fighters.
Lesser role models: We barely hear about a woman grandmaster and that leads us to why there are fewer role models. The absence of the same keeps them out of the game and the fray.
Unequal prize money: Champions say that the prize money has to be on par with the amount for men’s championships to make the game attractive for women. Women’s tournaments can open the field for more of them to enter, as chess great Viswanathan Anand suggests.
