We beat men at chess. Now we are forces to let one join our team.

[WarriorN]

‘We beat men at chess. Now we’re forced to let one join our team’

https://www.thetimes.com/article/305079ce-4881-4171-ac6a-72df0fdedce7?shareToken=3ecb5b6135b8b8f023c4a0f07898bdd8

Yes I think the format of tournaments is a structural barrier. Not many women can take frequent full days out of their schedule unless they are full-time chess players (chicken and egg). And for girls, being in an environment that progressively gets closer to 100% male isn’t that encouraging.

I still think lack of interest is the main explanation though (and that not being obsessively interested in chess is the normal position, not some sort of strange aberration needing explanation).

It seems quite a leap to say it must be misogyny when there is a more natural explanation, to do with average differences in interest in different things.

I’m curious whether you think the big skew in men vs women who know pi to 1000 or 10000 places is also misogyny, for example. Or just that most people don’t care enough to do it, and that those very few who do are more likely to be men.

Update on my derail. He stayed with chess, becoming a county under-18s champion. He hasn't been doing it in competition since, having studied law, and is now a High Court Judge. (Dances around like Bellatrix Black singing "I taught a High Court Judge!") Not in any sort of cases which interest us. G&S earworm. too.
Sorry for derail.

Oh, and the school club being run by me didn't seem to attract a lot of girls. Our team was boys. We had problems with matches falling on football practice evenings. Even though we were winning them.

Another thing I came across was a lad who, between his moves, would wander the room overlooking other players. When I commented to his teacher that mine were finding this behaviour distracting, I got a "that's my boy" smile of approval - it was his son. More gamesmanship as part of the tournament. I don't think girls like it. Most boys don't either. They are there to play chess, not male Mean Girl stuff.

I think this is a bit of a non story really - there’s always been a rule that the teams in 4ncl div 1 needed at least 1 male and 1 female and the female team would have been aware throughout. In fact it used to be that teams in all 4ncl divisions needed at least 1 male and 1 female, though now just div 1 (div 2 can have an u16 rather than both male/female). Several years back there was a team that was 7 female/1 male and also rose up the divisions.
I agree that the lack of girls /women in chess is that they find other things to do with their time, to get to top level chess requires a certain amount of obsession and there’s little in the way of money/other rewards