Women not cut out for chess
-
- Posts: 194
- Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2009 5:27 pm
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Women not cut out for chess
This thread is for discussing the following article:
"Chess gender debate in the international press"
http://en.chessbase.com/post/chess-gend ... onal-press
Heh-heh! I love it. Great fun!
M. Winther
"Chess gender debate in the international press"
http://en.chessbase.com/post/chess-gend ... onal-press
Heh-heh! I love it. Great fun!
M. Winther
-
- Posts: 7252
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:13 am
Re: Women not cut out for chess
Unless you are femaleMats Winther wrote:This thread is for discussing the following article:
"Chess gender debate in the international press"
http://en.chessbase.com/post/chess-gend ... onal-press
Heh-heh! I love it. Great fun!
M. Winther
-
- Posts: 6028
- Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:05 pm
- Location: Evesham
-
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 10:55 am
Re: Women not cut out for chess
Is everyone called Nigel an unbearable arse?
Surely it's just because they're too busy cleaning behind the fridge?
Surely it's just because they're too busy cleaning behind the fridge?
-
- Posts: 140
- Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2014 9:07 am
Re: Women not cut out for chess
You've no doubt heard the one about why second hand female brains cost less than male ones. The female ones have been used, whereas the male ones remain in mint condition.
-
- Posts: 670
- Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:47 pm
- Location: Leeds
Re: Women not cut out for chess
I reckon Nigel makes these calculated un-PC comments every now and then, for his own amusement and to grab a few headlines, but yes you can see how his particular brand of humour could, has and will cause offence. I usually find him quite entertaining myself, if you take him with a pinch of salt.
"When you see a good move, look for a better one!" - Lasker
-
- Posts: 624
- Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2013 11:20 pm
- Location: Horsham, Sussex
Re: Women not cut out for chess
A more pressing question - particularly in England - might be why it is that continuing the game beyond junior levels becomes so much less appealing for females than for males. I don't think nearly enough thought and effort is put into this.
-
- Posts: 5243
- Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:51 pm
- Location: Millom, Cumbria
Re: Women not cut out for chess
Well, a lot of male juniors drop out too (indeed, far too many of them)
There are fewer female players to start with so it is even more noticeable with them?
There are fewer female players to start with so it is even more noticeable with them?
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)
Re: Women not cut out for chess
To answer a question with a question -Dewi Jones wrote:Is everyone called Nigel an unbearable arse?
Does everyone called Nigella have a bootiful one?
In chess Judith Polgar is a rare exception that proves a rule about the nurture of females but not their nature.
-
- Posts: 194
- Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2009 5:27 pm
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Re: Women not cut out for chess
It is a question of biology, simply. Boys at middle school and early teenage spend much time in their boy's room and build model airplanes, or whatever. So they can spend time with a chess board, too. (That's what I did, studying Morphy's games. As a result, I have always been a strong club player.) Girls, however, are more interested in socializing. These facts are well-known. Boys are often much easier to deal with for their parents, whereas girls tend to be more difficult--arguing with their parents; staying out at nights, etc. Since boys have this autonomous character and are capable of "self-enployment", they are prone to improve their talents from an early age. A lonely girl is headed for psychic problems, whereas a boy benefits from loneliness. Today, a girl can socialize from home, too, which means that they spend all their time on social networks. They wake up in the middle of the night to look at text messages on the mobile phone.
This biological difference explains why men take the lead in all creative professions. The capacity of being alone, devoted to a hobby, or studying intently, is paramount for the development of diverse skills, including artistic skills. Although adult women often develop such a capacity, to a degree, the window for developing a strong passion for creative work is closed, which means that they cannot reach excellence. You must love to spend time in isolation, cultivating your skills. Women, generally, have no fondness for this, but they do it on account of society's demands.
This tendency to be a "free agent" is a central factor of European psychology, so it also explains ethnic differences of creativity. Arabs and Africans lag behind white people in branches of science, art, etc. They don't like to spend time alone in a room, but prefer to socialize. They are always "chatting". Many Third World immigrants to Sweden find it unbearable to study a dictionary and learn Swedish words. It is perplexing, because it takes a few days for a European man to acquire sufficient language skills in any language (after all, correct grammar is not essential). He just sits down in solitude and studies a dictionary. If this capacity for studious solitude is developed in early years, it brings great advantages.
M. Winther
This biological difference explains why men take the lead in all creative professions. The capacity of being alone, devoted to a hobby, or studying intently, is paramount for the development of diverse skills, including artistic skills. Although adult women often develop such a capacity, to a degree, the window for developing a strong passion for creative work is closed, which means that they cannot reach excellence. You must love to spend time in isolation, cultivating your skills. Women, generally, have no fondness for this, but they do it on account of society's demands.
This tendency to be a "free agent" is a central factor of European psychology, so it also explains ethnic differences of creativity. Arabs and Africans lag behind white people in branches of science, art, etc. They don't like to spend time alone in a room, but prefer to socialize. They are always "chatting". Many Third World immigrants to Sweden find it unbearable to study a dictionary and learn Swedish words. It is perplexing, because it takes a few days for a European man to acquire sufficient language skills in any language (after all, correct grammar is not essential). He just sits down in solitude and studies a dictionary. If this capacity for studious solitude is developed in early years, it brings great advantages.
M. Winther
-
- Posts: 10364
- Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:06 am
- Location: Somewhere you're not
Re: Women not cut out for chess
If the above is a joke it is not a very funny one.
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."
lostontime.blogspot.com
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."
lostontime.blogspot.com
-
- Posts: 624
- Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2013 11:20 pm
- Location: Horsham, Sussex
Re: Women not cut out for chess
Perhaps; I guess it would be possible to do an age / gender analysis of the grading database to get a rough idea (though obviously a lot of junior activity wouldn't show). Analysis for other countries would be interesting also, but as much less FIDE rated chess is played in England, meaningful comparison might be tricky.Matt Mackenzie wrote:Well, a lot of male juniors drop out too (indeed, far too many of them)
There are fewer female players to start with so it is even more noticeable with them?
-
- Posts: 4827
- Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:13 am
- Location: Bideford
Re: Women not cut out for chess
...he says, and then lists a whole load of stuff that is cultural and not biological in nature. Do you ever read what you yourself have written?Mats Winther wrote:It is a question of biology, simply.
-
- Posts: 194
- Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2009 5:27 pm
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Re: Women not cut out for chess
No, it is not cultural. There is no evidence that parents foster their children to behave in these different ways. They don't tell their son to spend time in his boy's room, absorbed in his hobby. Nor do they tell their daughter to chatter on the telephone for hours on end.IM Jack Rudd wrote:...he says, and then lists a whole load of stuff that is cultural and not biological in nature. Do you ever read what you yourself have written?Mats Winther wrote:It is a question of biology, simply.
Mats
-
- Posts: 147
- Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:20 pm
Re: Women not cut out for chess
what rule have you used Judit Polgar to [archaic]prove[/archaic] [modern]test[/modern]?John McKenna wrote:
In chess Judith Polgar is a rare exception that proves a rule about the nurture of females but not their nature.
(You may be confusing the archaic 'proving a rule' with the modern meaning of 'prove.'
eg using the term with its original meaning I might say "I'm looking for an exception to prove the rule that Nigel Short cannot be beaten by a woman."
Last edited by Bill Porter on Thu Apr 23, 2015 9:47 am, edited 1 time in total.