Women's In-Tournament Training

[Alex Holowczak]

Actually my first British title was a BWCA one

BWCA U10 champion! I was very proud and so were my parents! And I made loads of friends there

Oh, apologies. That'd be the British Women's Chess Association that appears in the voting register for the ECF as an Other Organisation, that I'd until now never heard of!

[Alan Walton]

Why is it that whenever an organiser appears on the scene with a new intiative there are always people waiting to flood the thread with so many negative comments? Why not applaud them for their time and effort and wish them well? Why is there a need for such negativity?

Because people always think about the cost to their own pocket, some people will always argue why is that section of the population more deserving than myself, and the question around this point has not just raised its head in the chess world, look what has recently happen regarding lower female insurance policies which has been deemed illegal by the EU. I think somebody might have a case around this ruling applying to the chess world.

[Sabrina Chevannes]

Cost to their own pocket? But people are complaining about the FREE entry!

And also, the training we are offering, we want to offer more events like this, for boys AND girls, with no difference in price for the gender. So I'm not sure about that.

And Alex, :O cannot believe you have not heard about the BWCA!

[Louise Sinclair]

Louise, you obviously didn't read my post properly before aggressively jumping in.

I said that I did NOT have the confidence UNTIL I won a girls title.

That is fine that you chose to not enter girls only tournament or other events that "excludes 50% of the population", but again, we are not encouraging girls to only enter these, but to provide more chess.

Regarding he male GM being against women's chess - this is one of the reasons why females are negatives. I know many females who have been coached by men who have made them feel like s*** because they are female.

I do not believe we are saying female tournaments are an easier ride, not at all. I think a lot of these females can kick their male counterparts asses! It is just another option. But I am bored of repeating myself now.

Perhaps if you HAD spent more time with females, you would not be so testosterone induced and be less aggressive!! Might have done you some good!

Your comment about testosterone is negative . Nought wrong with running a high level of testosterone I'm not the only woman possessing it in abundant amounts.
My GM trainer had insight into the errors I was making therefore he was an excellent coach for me and never made me feel like s*** ( aren't you being sexist with that assumption)
Furthermore what would you do with a timid boy who was terrified of playing girls - would you advise him to play male only events?
The only thing I would have done with a female title is consign it to the nearest bin. If I couldn't compete on a level playing field then a title which excludes 50% of the population would be meaningless to me.

[Adam Raoof]

Why is it that whenever an organiser appears on the scene with a new intiative there are always people waiting to flood the thread with so many negative comments? Why not applaud them for their time and effort and wish them well? Why is there a need for such negativity?

If I felt that this was an issue, I wouldn't be in favour of the ECF financially supporting the endeavour. However I do feel it's a idea worth trying, because whatever we say here, we are obviously not offering the right environment to women who play chess, because they drop out in such large numbers in their teens.

Coaching alongside tournaments is a very good idea, and the e2e4 events are the perfect environment to develop that idea.

[Alex Holowczak]

we are obviously not offering the right environment to women who play chess, because they drop out in such large numbers in their teens

Is this specifically limited to teenage girls? I think that's just common in juniors regardless of their sex. I guess boys drop out because they've lost interest in the game, whereas girls drop out because of some other reason that can be controlled; i.e. want to play but there's something else stopping them.

[Ben Purton]

For what its worth I am scared of playing girls...... *cries*

Katie Martin 1-0 Me At Yately Manor in like 2002?

Then Ben Purton 0-1 Amisha Parmer in 4NCL which was a 4.5-3.5 match was probaly the most painful given the 70 points ecf difference.

[Sabrina Chevannes]

Your comment about testosterone is negative . Nought wrong with running a high level of testosterone I'm not the only woman possessing it in abundant amounts.
My GM trainer had insight into the errors I was making therefore he was an excellent coach for me and never made me feel like s*** ( aren't you being sexist with that assumption)
Furthermore what would you do with a timid boy who was terrified of playing girls - would you advise him to play male only events?
The only thing I would have done with a female title is consign it to the nearest bin. If I couldn't compete on a level playing field then a title which excludes 50% of the population would be meaningless to me.

Sorry, what female titles have you won?

And that was not an assumption about your trainer, I said it is how some women have felt. Their exact words.

[Ben Purton]

Louise , before you put it in the bin, I hope you have paid your 80 odd quid to FIDE for it.

Ben

[Louise Sinclair]

I wouldn't demean myself by aiming at a female title and never have done. I attract a certain respect for refusing to do "female chess". These days I organise chess events and play poker

[Gareth Harley-Yeo]

Ok, so... here I go with my humble opinion

The positive side: Sabz & Jovi offering coaching is an excellent initiative. Hopefully as mentioned above it will be offered to males who’d also like a little guidance although this could muddy the idea of it being a women’s initiative. I guess Woman’s Chess offering coaching to males and females should be empowering enough in itself though.

The negative side: I’m not a fan of free entry for women. I’m not opposed to women not having to pay to play but it does stick in my craw to think that these players are eligible to win money that they haven’t contributed to. For me it should be you either pay to play and qualify for prizes or you enter for free and enjoy your games and social activities but you don’t get to walk away with money that the males have stumped up.

Does that not sound fair?

[Alan Walton]

The negative side: I’m not a fan of free entry for women. I’m not opposed to women not having to pay to play but it does stick in my craw to think that these players are eligible to win money that they haven’t contributed too. For me it should be you either pay to play and qualify for prizes or you enter for free and enjoy your games and social activities but you don’t get to walk away with money that the males have stumped up.

Does that not sound fair?

My point exactly

[Sabrina Chevannes]

Gareth - completely agree. Yes it would be unfair that they get to win prize money that you have contributed to and they havent.

But I wasn't stating any of that was correct and not at all unfair, but saying that Sean's offer was very kind and I am pro the training!

I wouldn't demean myself by aiming at a female title and never have done.

Louise, this sounds extremely bitter that you haven't won a title. Perhaps if you had, you would be less against womens chess

So are we saying that we should scrap all the junior sections too? I mean, why should they play in these age groups, why not just compete with adults straight away? It might make them grow up to think they are not as good as everyone else. Should all juniors refuse to enter junior events?

[Ben Purton]

I bet Sean is thinking 'bloody hell , I offered free entry and all I get is 10 pages of bloody debate on the forum'.

I think its incredible idea. I am mainly playing the event because of it.

Ben

[LozCooper]

The negative side: I’m not a fan of free entry for women. I’m not opposed to women not having to pay to play but it does stick in my craw to think that these players are eligible to win money that they haven’t contributed too. For me it should be you either pay to play and qualify for prizes or you enter for free and enjoy your games and social activities but you don’t get to walk away with money that the males have stumped up.

Does that not sound fair?

My point exactly

Do you feel the same about discounts for juniors, unemployed, senior citizens? I use those examples because they are not chess related eg by title or rating.

Or would you be happier if they were to receive free entry but couldn't win a prize?