Polgar, Yifan speak on women in chess

By Stabroek News On In Chess with Errol |
American chess grandmaster Wesley So, 25 (left) congratulates India’s most recent grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 13, at the conclusion of the 2018 Leon Masters in Leon, Spain, last week. So and Praggnanandhaa played one semi-final match and So prevailed. Praggnanandhaa won the first game, but So won the match, and subsequently, the full tournament. So is the 7th highest rated chess player worldwide.
American chess grandmaster Wesley So, 25 (left) congratulates India’s most recent grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 13, at the conclusion of the 2018 Leon Masters in Leon, Spain, last week. So and Praggnanandhaa played one semi-final match and So prevailed. Praggnanandhaa won the first game, but So won the match, and subsequently, the full tournament. So is the 7th highest rated chess player worldwide.

Of the over 1,600 chess grandmasters worldwide, just 36 are women. Why is this so? The answer is that fewer women are playing chess than men beginning from the most modest level.

The situation is the same in Guyana as it is in other countries, even though the identical opportunities exist for women when they are successful in tournaments.

Things are the way they are probably because women are not strong enough, or do not treat the game with as much seriousness as men, or they drift away at select times to pursue other endeavours.