Sharing an interesting post from Reddit: Men greatly overshadow - TopicsExpress

Sharing an interesting post from Reddit: Men greatly overshadow women in the world of chess. Women only make up 1% of the worlds Grand Masters. Why? I read a lot about this, articles, studies, etc and the biggest factor is quite simple, fewer women play chess. A study was done with professional female chess players. Their skill was taken and given a rating (they always have an official ELO rating) This rating was taken into account. They were then set up to play against someone but they couldnt tell if they were playing a man or a women. What the study found was that when women thought they were playing women, they played at their level. But when they were told they were playing men (they were actually still playing a woman) they played below their skill level. This was the affect of the their perceived notions that men were better at chess (Ironically, regardless if they actually believed it). This is where it gets fun. There is one female chess player who stands out among all the other top female chess players. Stronger than all the others by a long shot. And that is Judit Polgar (age 37), a Hungarian Grand Master and the BEST female chess player that ever lived. She has defeated ten current or former world champions in either rapid or classical chess: Magnus Carlsen (highest ranked chess player to ever live), Anatoli Karpov, Garry Kasparov (believed to be the best chess player to ever live), Boris Spassky, Vasily Smyslov, Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Ruslan Ponomariov, Alexander Khalifman, and Rustam Kasimdzhanov. (all the best Grandmasters in the world). Most female chess players stick to female only competitions but this is where Judit Polgar stands alone, and I believe, the reason why she got to where she is. From Wiki: Polgár has rarely played in womens-specific tournaments or divisions and has never competed for the Womens Im looking to connect with journalists, journalism students and bloggers from around the world. Im creating a network on Sumazi to help journalists tap into each others networks for sources, advice and job opportunities. Championship. I always say that women should have the self-confidence that they are as good as male players, but only if they are willing to work and take it seriously as much as male players, she said. She didnt segregate herself. She refused to do female competitions and challenged and believed in herself enough to play with the men, to be challenged and played against as equals. I truly believe that its in her determination to not be a woman in a mans chess world to be a person in a peoples chess world that allowed her to brake through the walls that hold other female chess players back. And she did it, shes the best female chess player that ever lived and has beaten 10, 10! current or former WORLD CHAMPIONS. She is truly a remarkable woman and one that is paving the way for women in chess. Showing them all it is possible to compete with men, if you believe in yourself and try your best. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judit_Polg%C3%A1r