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That's a very complex topic, and I am unsure of a solution. Chess is not a physical competition, so why is there even a separation by gender?
Historically, chess was almost exclusively played by men. Not because they were smarter, but because women lacked the opportunity.
Since there's no reason why women shouldn't enjoy chess, they were allowed to join tournaments, but that didn't really help to increase the player count. From what I’ve heard, they weren’t really taken seriously and were disrespected by their opponents.
A counterpoint comes from a former female champion who apparently doesn't agree with that. She claimed in a recent discussion:
"Nadja Jussupow, head of the German Commission for Women’s Chess and a former champion, stated that more trans women have been entering women’s tournaments since Germany’s Self-Determination Act took effect in 2021. Some cisgender women considered quitting... fearing unfair competition."
Since I wasn't completely familiar with the "Self-Determination Act," I looked it up and it was only passed in 2024? So I have no idea what Jussupow is referring to. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Determination_Act_(Germany)
Maybe they all watched the Futurama episode where Bender becomes a "fembot" to easily win the robot Olympics, but that kind of thing happens very rarely.
As a trans person myself, this is sad. I and most others I've talked to, just want to be recognized as normal women. So it always hurts twice as much when "real" women proclaim that we aren't valid and are just doing this to gain an advantage.
Ich denke da kommt so etwas: "Das ist natürlich nur weil die Micheal, Andreas and Thomas ihre Arbeitsplätze weggenommen bekommen von den bösen Immigranten"🤦🏼♀️