Updated: November 22, 2020 8:43:21 am
Koneru Humpy began his journey in chess at the age of six. (Archive)
Koneru Humpy has yet to see The Queen’s Gambit. She has been receiving numerous phone calls about the Netflix miniseries, but has not been able to catch a glimpse of the show that has raised questions about women’s chess and how it has been treated over the years. But despite not having seen the series, Humpy is very familiar with its premise: a young woman participating in a male-dominated scenario, who begins to change the power dynamics by winning, and the change in equations is not taken. with too much kindness.
The girl from Andhra Pradesh started her chess journey at the age of six and when she became the youngest Grandmaster in the world (at the time) at the age of 15, she was marked by greatness. But by winning open tournaments and becoming a force in chess, Humpy also altered the status quo that resulted in various hints about his credentials.
“At 15, I became a general manager, but until then, the concept of gender barriers didn’t really occur to me. I became a GM on the European circuit. In those days, we had very few international tournaments in India. To make myself known, my father took me on a trip to Europe for a few months and I played there continuously. I won a title and came back to India, ”Humpy told The Indian Express as he recounted the beginning of a turbulent phase in his career.
It was only when he started to win that the criticism got out of hand, and what they had to say was not very charitable. “At that time, although I was a general manager, I was not performing in a stable manner. It is quite normal at that age to have ups and downs. Some of my colleagues started criticizing me saying that I did not have the standard of a GM because I had not proven myself in India and that I had played in weaker tournaments in Europe to become a GM, ”said Humpy.
Koneru Humpy’s chess journey is replete with stories of men intentionally or unintentionally, providing a platform for disrespect. (Express illustration by Suvajit Dey)
Comparisons to Judit Polgar always seemed to find their way into conversations and the women’s chess circuit, which has historically been viewed as inferior to the men’s game, expected Humpy to bridge the gap between the two worlds. He could cope with the pressure of those expectations. But she was not prepared for the attack on her credentials.
“This was a period when I was really mentally disturbed. Being an athlete, handling a victory or a loss in a tournament was quite normal since childhood. But this kind of criticism was very new to me. It was a tough stage. I was down in many tournaments and suffered for six months to a year. It was then that my father and I came to the conclusion that I needed to play in tournaments on the Indian circuit, ”said Humpy, explaining his decision to participate in the National ‘B’ in 2013, although it could be part of the National. ‘A’ in an attempt to dispel any doubts about his merit of GM status.
This later led to more complaints. If he entered category ‘A’ it was judged not good enough and his GM rating was said to have been awarded through some sleight of hand. If he participated in the National ‘B’ montage, he was criticized for taking an easy way out. There was no way to win this battle of perception, but when Humpy finished second in the ‘B’ national configuration, by her own admission, she felt that removed any doubts about her grades.
Humpy’s journey to chess is replete with stories of men, intentionally or unintentionally, who provide a platform for disrespect. Some of the stories range from the absolute desire to defeat her (“Even though there were some players who were weaker than me comparatively, being a woman, they tried harder to beat me”) to unintentionally disrespecting her (“I once played an international tournament and I had a disastrous performance at the event. Afterwards, I got a ‘best woman award’) But despite the disrespect, if there is one opinion of hers that has shock value, it is her belief that men simply they are better than women at chess.
ELO ratings seem to suggest the same thing, especially when comparing the best male player in the world (Magnus Carlsen: 2862) and the best female player (Hou Yifan: 2658). Psychological magazines and former players have attributed it to many factors, the main one being the difference in mentality between men and women.
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Numbers game
– According to FIDE, there is an 84-16 ratio of male and female registered chess players. In total, there are 1,683 GMs who are men and 37 who are women.
– The highest ELO rating ever achieved by a woman is 2735 by Polgar herself. She was, at one point, the eighth best chess player in the world.
– In 2002, Koneru Humpy became the youngest GM woman at the age of 15 years, one month and 27 days. Current women’s world No. 1 Hou Yifan broke that record in 2008.
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When asked what she felt was the difference between the way the two genders play the sport, the reigning women’s rapids world champion offered an interesting insight. “I have seen male players show a broader repertoire of movements. They switch between openings quite frequently and are quite aggressive in their playing style. When it comes to women, there are many top players who have limited opening moves, but the preparation behind those moves goes deeper. A game between a woman and a woman is very different from a game between a man and a woman because psychologically men try to do something in that match. So the game tends to get wilder. “
For a general increase in ELO scores for women, the 33-year-old believes that female-only chess tournaments should cease to be a regular fixture because separate tournaments for both genders make it difficult for women to take on those of the men. circuit. “There should only be open tournaments so women have to play with men and improve their game.”
But Humpy recognizes the problem that such a system will bring, since a monetary gap already skewered could widen even more. “The prize money for men is quite higher. It is tournaments like the World Championship and Candidates that help professional women to survive financially. Once these tournaments are removed, professionally it will be very difficult to survive on the men’s circuit alone. I think it makes sense that they keep a special prize money for women even in open tournaments. “
Judit Polgar on chess and women
Judit Polgar is considered the strongest chess player in history. (Facebook / ChessBase)
Even before the Queen’s Gambit was made, many pioneers in the chess world have spoken out about why women are not at the top of the game, none more so than Judit Polgar, considered the greatest player of all time. In an interview with The Guardian last year, the Hungarian spoke on a wide variety of topics related to chess and women.
– Polgar on the need to compete against men: Playing alone among women would not have helped my development, since since I was 13 years old, I was clearly number one among them. I needed to compete with the other prominent (male) Grandmasters of my time.
– Polgar on why training women needs a new perspective: girls in chess are not treated the same way as boys. Coaches and officials are guided by possible successes in girls’ competitions, which are comparatively easier to achieve. Parents tend to follow the advice of experts.
– Polgar on Nigel Short’s comments on the inferiority of women’s chess: Short’s conclusion does not stand up to scrutiny and the burden of proof is on him. Even if women think and compete differently, we can achieve the same achievements as men: be it in science, art, or chess.
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