In the last few years, I’ve worked very hard to promote women’s chess, especially for young female players, through the Susan Polgar Foundation. I have specific plans. The results have been fantastic in spite of many road blocks, including some from chess politicians.
My goal is NOT to separate girls from boys. My goal is NOT to encourage girls to play in all-girl’s events only. Unfortunately, some people do not even bother to find out the facts before making judgment.
My goal is to motivate more girls to PLAY and STAY in chess and eventually all young chess players, boys or girls.
There are different types of young female players. Here are just some examples:
1. Want to pursue chess at the highest level to become masters, grandmasters and perhaps chess professionals
2. Want to become advanced players for personal accomplishment / self satisfaction while planning on different careers but stay in chess to enjoy the social and competitive benefits
3. Satisfy to reach the intermediate to advanced levels but stay in chess to enjoy the social and competitive benefits
4. Simply take pleasure in chess and stay in the game to enjoy the social and competitive benefits of game
5. Those that got fed up with the constant social pressure or simply do not enjoy the boring and stale chess environment and quit
Most of the young female players fall into category 5, 4 or 3. Very few would fall into category 2 or 1. Therefore, in order to have more young female players in category 2 or 1, we have to increase category 4 and eliminate category 5. The same can be said about boys. The drop out rate of young chess players as they get older is alarming.
That is why I created 3 major all-girl’s events. I want to make these events fun, enjoyable, beneficial (college scholarships and countless other prizes) but also extremely competitive.
They are:
– Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls (best of each state)
– Susan Polgar National Open Championship for Girls (for all young female players under 21)
– Susan Polgar World Open Championship for Girls (for all young female players)
I wanted to give the girls a 3-year head start to catch up. After that, the Susan Polgar Foundation will start to organize open scholastic events for both girls and boys, starting with the upcoming Tri-state Scholastic Championship at the NY Athletic Club in NY City on October 7-8, 2006 and the Susan Polgar National Open Championship for Girls in Corpus Christi, Texas next President’s Day Weekend.
My goal is to eventually raise the playing level of female players to be able to compete on the same level as their male counterpart. That is why I created programs like the US Women’s Olympiad Training Program (this helped brought the first ever Olympic Gold [2] and Silver [2] medals for the US) and the Susan Polgar All-Star Girl’s Chess Team.
My all-girls events are designed to be cool and fun for girls and they give the girls wonderful opportunities to meet their peers and make lasting friendships. Are my plans perfect? Maybe not! Are they flawless? Probably not! But to do nothing while watching young players dropping out of chess year after year is simply irresponsible. To do nothing while sitting back and criticize others is even worse.
Very profound. 😉
haha……yeah…haha….sometimes though silence is golden…as susan usually is.
Mike M
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I think one of the reasons kids leave chess is because of the stigma about it. A lot of people, not all, but most, look at chess players as nerdy, or even crazy.
What child reaching adulthood, would like to be thought of as a nerd? There is a time when teens and young adults are very self conscious of their image.
So I think one approach would not be to change the thinking of the kids, but to change the thinking of those who perceive the kids.
I feel Jennifer Shahade, as an example, has done a good job at this. She has brought chess out of the stuffy nerdy tournament dungeons and into the artsy and ecclectic light.
I’d love to see the romanticism come back to chess.
We all have our reasons for playing chess, but being looked down at is not one of them.
Now with that said, I want to also say thay I think Susan’s approach is great to. What she has done for kid’s chess is irreplacable. I just feel that there needs to be a multi-faceted approach to promotion.
PS. My first post was posted at a time when Susan forgot to upload the text of her post. It was a humorous post with a hint of playful sarcasm, and not a insensive demeaning post as it would seem now.
As a father of two daughters who will one day take up chess and make daddy proud (;-)) I applaud your efforts to get more girls playing and staying with chess. We have so many examples of how female-only programs in other realms are very successful at increasing participation, so why are there some who are vocally against them? Perhaps they have a deep-seated fear of one day being thrashed by a little girl?
It’s hard for me to understand why anyone would be highly critical of your efforts to promote chess to young people. I’ve read that some people see you as a “self-promoter,” casting doubt on your motives for doing this, and I know there is disagreement over whether girls and women should have spearate events, but what is the problem with trying to get kids interested in a game that is research proven to be potentially helpful in all areas of life? Moreover, what is wrong with someone trying to earn a living by promoting the game she loves?
When I learned chess back in the 1970’s there were no chess camps or very many coaches. My home state of Minnesota had a high school and junior high school championship, but there were unrated tournaments, and most rated events were primarily adult tournaments, which were anxiety-producing for an adolescent with no guidance or coaching. Back then, I would have welcomed more chess opportunities with people my own age. There was no Internet, no DVD’s or CD-Rom’s, few chess coaches, and FIDE-titled players were almost impossible to connect with. All I had were some chess books, “Chess Life and Review,” and a modest chess club. I wish for you continued success with these efforts.
constructive criticism is better than sitting back and doing nothing.
unconstructive criticism is worse as it discourages people who do try to do something.
i want to get as good as abby marshall.
I noticed that you are planning to hold Susan Polgar National Open Championship for Girls on President’s Day Weekend. Usually, the Team East tournament is held at the same weekend so it will be tough to choose. Any chance that the date will change?
I was priveleged enough to see firsthand what Susan is doing at Las Vegas. All of the young ladies seemed very happy and loved Susan. This indeed is empirical data proof of Susan’s plan for the future of chess. She is creating an environment for them to love chess now and in the future. Let us hope she succeeds.
Susan you are the greatest thing to happen for American chess since Bobby Fischer won The World Championship and captured the nations imagination! You do more singlehandedly for youth chess and education than school systems and the USCF combined! Not to mention the future of American professional chess! I am proud you are an American! I purchased your 5 dvd set’Winning Chess The Easy Way’ some time ago and it was very instructive and I really enjoyed the Robert Fischer segment. I want to take the time to apologize for some rather misguided comments I made to you in the past about catering to girls in chess. I knew that wasnt what you were all about. I admit that I suffer from a depression disorder and was feeling very frustrated with my chess and I took it out on you. I am very sorry. I met you on WCN and have very fond memories of your friendliness and kindness like when you gave me a free draw in Master Challenge. : ) I love you as a Chessplayer and more importantly as a person. I hope to chat more with you in the future on your excellent site.