Women not on top in chess 

DC | TN Raghu | 16 min 20 sec ago

Chennai: German chancellor Angela Merkel is setting the economic agenda for European Union members and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff is able to snub the US, as she is upset with the super power’s spying network. A NASA trip into space is rare these days without a woman astronaut. But women aren’t equal to men in the world of chess.

While there is an unmistakeable buzz about the world championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen even before a piece has been moved, the ongoing women’s championship involving China’s Hou Yifan and Anna Ushenina of Ukraine has grabbed little attention.

The purpose of this article isn’t to hype up the issue from the feminist viewpoint but to highlight the glaring anonymity of the contest to decide the best woman player on the earth.

From prize money to media coverage, the Yifan – Ushenina meeting is no match to the widely anticipated gladiatorial battle between Anand and Carlsen. Admittedly, women have a long way to go to catch up with men in performance. In the FIDE ranking list based on elo rating, no woman finds a place in the top 50. Yifan’s rating is 2609 while Carlsen is at the top of the heap at 2862. As per FIDE‘s September list, Judit Polgar of Hungary has 2696, the highest rating for women and she is ranked 54.

The difference in rating and ability between men and women can perhaps be explained by science. But Susan Polgar, a pioneer for women in chess, knows what needs to be done to bridge the gender gap in the mind game. The US grandmaster of Hungarian origin – she was the first woman to become a GM (from OTB performance) – answered Deccan Chronicle’s questions on the subject, which is close to her heart, in an e-mail interview.

There isn’t even a blip on the media radar about the Yifan – Ushenina match. Why is the coverage poor for women’s title match? The media interest, on the other hand, is huge for the Anand – Carlsen match…

There are a number of reasons for the difference.

The women’s match is taking place in China. There is a huge difference in time zone. It’s true that there is usually a lack of interest in women’s chess in the first place. And this match-up is not very interesting based on the perception of the media and fans, as the rating difference is more than 110 points.

Ushenina is relatively unknown to chess fans. Other than the official report on the FIDE website, there is virtually nothing offered such as live commentary in English. There was no pre-event promotion. Therefore, it seems that even the organisers are not concerned about international publicity .

There is equal prize money for men and women in tennis. What are the steps necessary to get equal prize money in chess? 

It took a lot to get women’s tennis on level terms with men. Billy Jean King was a force in changing women’s tennis. After winning the US Open in 1972, she refused to defend her title in 1973 unless women got equal money as men. Other top women players supported her position. She also led a movement to boycott events that didn’t offer equal prize money .

Unfortunately, chess players do not unite for better conditions. This problem is not exclusive to women. Top male chess players can make a very good living. Many of them are millionaires or quite wealthy, thanks to Bobby Fischer. However, most GMs aren’t making enough money.

When I stood up against FIDE protesting unfair conditions in my women’s world championship title defense in 1999, not even a single player (male or female) supported my fight for fair play. Consequently, prize funds for women went down further. Unless chess players, especially women, join hands, nothing will change. FIDE should get an experienced media/marketing and PR person to promote women’s chess and chess in general.

Yifan – Ushenina being treated on par with Anand – Carlsen match? 

This is a very sensitive question. In general, I would like the prize funds for women to increase to men’s level. However, the players must also do their part to help create interest and marketability for their sport. No sponsor would come with millions of dollars for something that does not yield positive returns. In fact, FIDE had a hard time finding sponsors for women’s world championship.

It is unrealistic to believe that they can find sponsors for the women’s world championship at the same level as Anand vs Carlsen. In addition, there is too much politics in the world of chess that directly hinders the general growth of the sport, especially for women. I have faced a lot of hurdles in my efforts to promote women’s chess in the US.

I want to bring chess to the highest level to attract major sponsors and supporters. Chess politicians, on the other hand, only want to have power for life. So the battle is not with the media or sponsors. The battle for chess players from around the world is with chess politicians at all levels.

Women players make too little money. They are afraid to lose what little they have if they get on the wrong side of chess politicians. 

Please give your general opinion on women’s chess.

Women’s chess can be very exciting. It has grown tremendously since I became the first to earn the GM title in 1991. Today there are more than 2 dozen women who have the GM title. Women are also incredible fighters on the board. There are a lot more decisive results in women’s chess. They also generally dress well and conduct themselves better than men. However, we still have a long way to go.

There are still fewer women in competitive chess. It remains very hard for a woman to make a living as a professional chess player. My sister Judit and I are an exception. Therefore, it is a Catch-22. If it is hard to make a living in chess for women, few will be interested to pursue chess at the highest level. And if there are fewer women players who can successfully compete with men in the same level, there will be less interest in women’s chess.

Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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