Mindset needs to change for women to take on men in chess: Judit Polgar

Prejudice, parents’ mindsets contribute to women not emulating men, says the Hungarian GM.

A total of 187 teams in the open category and 162 in the women’s section will feature at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mahabalipuram from July 28 to August 10. It’s the highest turnout in the Olympiad and the difference between the number of open and women teams is the lowest it’s ever been.

Judit Polgar (Twitter/GMJuditPolgar)

To a casual observer, though, the need to have separate sections for men and women in a game like chess might seem odd. But women have had their obstacles in challenging conventional notions on the 64 squares too.

Hungarian Grandmaster (GM) Judit Polgar has been a pioneer in this regard. She is the only woman to have seriously challenged for the World Chess Championship, taking part in the Candidates cycle in 2005. She is also the only woman to have surpassed an Elo rating of 2700. Garry Kasparov had said women are not exceptional chess players but has lost to Polgar. As has Nigel Short, Anatoly Karpov, Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen.

So, there is nobody better than Polgar then to ask about chess’ gender divide. Belonging to a family that was obsessed with chess – her elder sisters are Susan (Grandmaster) and Sofia (International Master) – the Polgars were at odds with the Hungarian chess federation regarding its policy of women-only events. But since Polgar’s retirement in 2014, no woman has been able to break that barrier and challenge men.

When asked for possible reasons, Polgar – who will be the lead commentator at the Chess Olympiad – said: “I believe that it has to start with the mindset and it has to change with the parents and coaches that girls can achieve more than before. I was fortunate that my parents didn't limit my potential and actually pushed me that I can be anything I want if I work hard. It comes from there originally. Once parents believe that you can have the same expectations whether it is a boy or girl, then we will have more girls competing in the open section. It will also increase the level of girls.”

According to Polgar, the inherent prejudice girls face in many parts of the world is also a factor. “There shouldn’t be (a distinction between men and women), but there is. In many places, maybe in India too, girls start from a different place. If I had to bring a parallel with the chess board, you have the queen and the pawn. In many places, boys are the queens and girls are pawns. If girls have the support and perseverance, they can transform and have the same level of opportunities. But it is not like that in reality. Unless you have very strong support from your trainers and the society around you, it is difficult,” said the 45-year-old.

While some might suggest men and women competing in the same category as a possible solution, Polgar feels women’s events cannot be done away with entirely.

“I think right now, you cannot eliminate the women’s section. That would cause more girls to drop out. Even the top female players won’t be in a good spot in the overall rankings. I would say keep the women's section but simultaneously, I would suggest that there should be greater acceptance of girls playing in open section. In countries like Spain, they don't organise separate championships. They have a mixed tournament and then give prizes to the best men and women players. This can be a good start. Because for the moment, it is fair to say that women aren't reaching as high as men.”

US favourites to win Olympiad

Polgar, who took part in 10 iterations of the Chess Olympiad, rated USA as the runaway favourites in the open category. Their team is likely to comprise Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So. “Well, it’s pretty obvious that US are the main favourites in the open section. They also have a lot of pressure on themselves that they should be taking the gold medal as they have really top players in their team. With Russia and China not taking part, the second and third spots are open. That makes it exciting and of course there can be surprises even for the first place,” she said.