The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has ruled that biological males have “no right” to compete with women, regardless of their gender identity.
Transgender activists and their self-styled allies are pushing back against the ban by appealing to feminist sensibilities, arguing that, unlike women’s swimming champion William ‘Lia’ Thomas, biologically male chess players should not have biological advantages over female rivals.
“It’s not just transphobic, it’s anti-feminist,” argued Richard Pringle, a sociology professor specializing in gender and sexuality, complaining that the ban “suggests that males are somehow strategically better.”
Nevertheless, the reality is that there is only currently only one woman among the top 100 chess players worldwide – and she is only the third woman in history to achieve such a ranking.
FIDE’s new rules also state that the championships of women who become transmen will be “abolished” on their transition, but the titles of men who become transwomen will be retained.
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