Is chess sexist?

I have won every game of chess played against my DH. His much younger DSis was in a chess club as was my DB. Neither me or my DH were in a chess club. My DF used to play against his DB's (no sisters), my DH used to play chess with both of his parents.

Our children are too young to play yet. My DD can join the chess club next year when she is in Y2. I'll be interested to see the gender divide then.

I think the argument that chess is inherently sexist is pretty ridiculous. The identities of the pieces were set way back in history, and for anyone who plays the game regularly they pretty soon become abstract entities defined by their powers, with no gender identity.

To answer the second question - how many MNers have DSs who play chess at school, or DHs/DPs who did? And how many of their DDs play chess, or how many play chess themselves? I bet most of the DCs who play are DSs. Explain why, and you'll explain why chess players at the highest level are dominantly male.

But on a serious note- why do you think chess players are dominantly male? Every chess champion to date has been male and there is currently only 1 female in the top 100 players in the world.

phys.org/news150954140.html

It's not like the game requires any physical strength or anything.

But don't forget a king commands his army, and the king tells the queen and the other pieces when and where to move :D

I always saw the Queen as the best piece, which she is, and the King as pretty useless. I think your son must see that too, and just turned it around to have a laugh with you.

Hmmm....not so sure. I mean it's interesting that he took it that way. I mean if it were the opposite way round (king = powerful, queen = fragile) then he could claim it means that boys are better cos more powerful and having to save weedy little girls..... but...

this way he's taken the opposite situation and still reached the conclusion that boys = better.

That's the interesting bit, whichever way the wind blows, people interpret as they want to...

OTOH - you said he was winding you up - so that's a whole other story ......

If he thinks that losing his Queen doesn't matter, then he needs a different chess tutor. It is by far the most powerful and flexible piece on the board.

'I am slowly realising that sexism is so ingrained in society, that even my son is picking it up in a simple game.'

It's all too easy to jump to these conclusions if you take everything at face value though, rather than look into things even a little.

Every pawn wants to grow up to be a queen :)

So i think the answer is no, chess isn't sexist!

Now theres a sentence i'd never think i'd hear! You could of course interpret it as the queen is strong and powerful and willing to sacrifice herself for her country/family. The poor old king can't really do very much and has to be looked after and hide behind his minions

Surely the point of the game is that every piece has to protect the weak king. But the queen has the most options for moving. Even the bishop and a knight had have more manoeuvrability than the king.

I haven't played chess in decades, but imho the queen is a far more impressive piece, able to move wherever she wants, while the king can only move one space at a time.