Chess star slams sexists for focusing on her clothes & accent instead of game

18-year-old Indian chess star Divya Deshmukh is hitting out at sexism she’s experienced at tournaments in a series of scathing posts.

Deshmukh, one of India’s rising chess talents, is tired of women being taken for granted in chess and called out the sexism she’s been dealing with.

The chess star was feeling good about her performance at the Tata Steel Chess Challengers, which she finished 12th at, but revealed that fans weren’t exactly the most excited about how she played the game.

According to Deshmukh, this event was the straw that broke the camel’s back, explaining that the audience was paying more attention to everything else about her than her chess matches.

Indian chess star calls out sexism at tournament

In a scathing Instagram post, Deshmukh said how she has noticed how women in chess are “often just taken for granted” and how the Tata Steel Chess Challengers event was another example of this.

“I played a few games which I felt were quite good and I was proud of them. I got told by people how the audience was not even bothered with the game but instead focused on every single possible thing in the world: my clothes, hair, accent and every other irrelevant thing,” she wrote.

She continued, “I was quite upset to hear this and I think is the sad truth that people when women play chess they often overlook how good they actually are, the games they play and their strength.”

Deshmukh further added how she was “disappointed” with how few people paid attention to her interviews.

Chess Master Yosha Iglesias also chimed in on Twitter in support of Deshmukh, saying that her interviews were full of men insulting her and making sexual comments.

Tata Steel Chess has responded to the backlash. In a statement to Chess.com, chief organizer Jeroen van den Berg said that the tournament will “remain committed to promoting women in chess and ensuring a safe and equal sporting enviroment. Step by step, but we will get there.”

Divya, meanwhile, says she harbors no ill will against Tata Steel Chess and doesn’t “blame the spectators,” adding that all the ones she met were kind.

This is not the first time chess sexism has made headlines. Late last year, Anna-Maja Kazarian was fined over her choice of footwear at the World Chess Championships – something she says ruined the tournament for her.