Greatest female chess player ever wants women’s titles “deleted”

In an interview on the New in Chess magazine podcast, Chess legend Judit Polgar said women’s titles should be abolished, arguing that it would benefit all players.

There are four titles that only women can achieve in competitive chess: the Woman Grandmaster, Woman International Master, Woman FIDE Master, and Woman Candidate Master. These titles are easier to obtain as they require fewer norms with a high rating compared to their gender-neutral counterparts.

Women can also earn the other four chess titles on top of their gender-specific ones, and many top-level players have both.

In the interview, Polgar suggested revamping the system to be more about rating and to standardize the titles across the board.

“I thought that maybe it would be possible, and it would be just a very good try to test it at least, to delete the women titles. I mean, why do we have women’s titles? Why don’t you have a title for 2000 (ELO rating), for 2200, for 2300, for 2400, for 2500, for 2600, for 2700? Isn’t it much better to have the rating titles and not that it’s women or men?” She said.

Polgar explained later in the podcast that it would be a “first step” toward a solution for the gender divide in chess, as it would change the mindset of women entering tournaments.

“Suddenly the mindset of ladies would also say: ‘Okay, it does not matter whether I play in an open tournament or a women’s tournament, I’m aiming to get this title. This title belongs to my rating, not to the gender. It’s my strength, it’s my knowledge, it’s what I can perform, right?’” She said.

FIDE introduced the first women’s title, WGM, in 1975 and added the following titles in the years following. The concept of removing them from competitive chess was first broached in 2009 but has not been seriously considered by FIDE.

The reaction to Polgar’s suggestion has been mixed on social media with some players liking the idea, and others asking for a more welcoming environment for women in the space before talk of large-scale changes comes into play.