I played a little chess in high school, but my involvement was quite low, and plunged to zero after that, so this surprised me in every aspect:
In chess, most tournaments are open categories where men and women compete on an equal footing. There are a few, though, that are restricted to women only, such as the Women’s World Chess Championship. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has placed a moratorium on trans-identified males in women’s chess events, to take effect Aug. 21. FIDE noted in its handbook that “this is an evolving issue for chess” with further policy evolving “in line with research evidence.” Indignation was immediately voiced on X (formerly Twitter): “This is so insulting to cis women, to trans women, and to the game itself. It assumes that cis women couldn’t be competitive against cis men.” [Barbara Kay, The Epoch Times via Reality’s Last Stand]
It’s worth noting that The Epoch Times is highly conservative, with a Chinese twist, so it could be suspect. Still, if there are women-only competitions and now trans-women are banned from them, it either says something about the politics of the administrative body, or something about the facts on the ground. Given that the administrative body is probably not highly political outside of its context, it would seem the assertions concerning women and trans-women being the same are likely false.
