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Nov 25th, 2013
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  1. The delicate equation of girls and chess: an open letter to Magnus Carlsen, freshly crowned world champion.
  2.  
  3. Dear Magnus.
  4.  
  5. Congrats on your title! The media is telling me that you're a very fine and single gentleman.
  6.  
  7. I've also read that you don't like it when girls you meet try to tell you they've "learned chess with their grandfather." Don't worry, then: I would never talk about chess.
  8.  
  9. Even though I used to play, I stopped. For years, I've been reminded why.
  10.  
  11. There were two teams of official commentators for your match. Both of them had a man and a woman of relatively equal strength.
  12.  
  13. We had Tania Sachdev, an intelligent, witty, funny international grandmaster.
  14.  
  15. And the well-known Susan Polgar, whose commentary was always interesting and full of great anecdotes.
  16.  
  17. But reading the official chat wouldn't have told you that:
  18.  
  19. [Internet comments]
  20.  
  21. "Tania is behaving like a slut."
  22.  
  23. "This blonde commentator looks better in 240p."
  24.  
  25. "Tania has a stinky hairy pussy!"
  26.  
  27. "Yes, the big Susan is out."
  28.  
  29. "Tania is showing her stupidity."
  30.  
  31. "Tania should be naked."
  32.  
  33. "I would bang Susan's sister."
  34.  
  35. "Who is this cunt?"
  36.  
  37. Magnus, I'm sure you're as disgusted as I am by these remarks, which I've seen hundreds of in the past weeks.
  38.  
  39. This world championship has renewed my interest in chess…after all,you were my hero when I first started playing.
  40.  
  41. [Young Fanou] "Mom, dad, look! There's a boy my age who just became grandmaster! I wanna be one, too!"
  42.  
  43. So seeing you, ten years later, finally reach the world title match felt like something I had to follow.
  44.  
  45. [Fanou] "Hey, remember Carlsen? He's playing the world championship!"
  46.  
  47. "Really?!"
  48.  
  49. To be fair, I played a little bit last year in a club. (Forgot all opening theory)
  50.  
  51. Both experiences, online and in the real world, showed me that nothing has changed in six years: it's still hard for women out there.
  52.  
  53. I started competition at age 11, and left at 16. Such a short amount of time, and yet during these 5 years, I felt like I've seen it all.
  54.  
  55. "I've lost against a girl, this sucks."
  56.  
  57. "Girls will never beat boys at chess." "Yeah, nature made us too weak."
  58.  
  59. I wanted to participate in the boys' championships, but my trainer convinced me otherwise. I didn't understand why we had to be separated, segregated.
  60.  
  61. By the time I reached 13, a year after you did, comments of another nature arose:
  62.  
  63. "Am I expected to stay focused, with that pretty face of yours?"
  64.  
  65. "I wish all female players were young and good looking, it'd be nicer to play against them."
  66.  
  67. I remember a player whose remarks were so rude I resigned the game to escape his jokes on my hair, face, chest.
  68.  
  69. Had anyone said anything about your looks in the middle of a game, Magnus? Or made blatant come-ons during analysis after?
  70.  
  71. The worst had yet to come, though: at age 16, I was sexually abused by one of my club's teachers, someone I trusted and respected. I only told my parents and never pressed charges; I feared my club-mates reactions. What if their favorite adult got fired because of a GIRL?
  72.  
  73. So I left chess. For good. So do a lot of girls of that age faced with (hopefully) less traumatic events.
  74.  
  75. "Why are men and women still separated in chess?" (Someone recently asked me)
  76.  
  77. [Fanou] "Well, it's because girls are greatly outnumbered, so statistically, they're less strong."
  78.  
  79. What I didn't mention is that in younger categories, girls are numerous. But when they hit adolescence, they stop playing.
  80.  
  81. I believe that the reason for that massive retirement isn't that they need to "concentrate on school" or "paint their nails" (as Ive often heard). When faced with a hostile environment, it's better to leave before it scars you forever. And that's what lots of us did, consciously or not.
  82.  
  83. But I'm sure you know as well asI do that leaving chess is easier said than done…
  84.  
  85. I moved far away to study, and couldn't resist going to a club again.
  86.  
  87. After all, 5 years had passed, I could deal with men and their behavior, now.
  88.  
  89. So I played. And it started again.
  90.  
  91. "Girl players are usually so ugly, it's a nice change to see someone decent."
  92.  
  93. "You should go to the girls' classes!" <--- beginner lessons (that guy hadn't even seen me play)
  94.  
  95. "I wouldn't mind 'playing you,' if you get what I mean…"
  96.  
  97. "Wear a larger cleavage if you want to win next time!"
  98.  
  99. I'm sure that you'll agree with me when I'll say that players are not here to please their opponents' eyes, male or female.
  100.  
  101. I'm not very strong, and never will be. But can't I enjoy a peaceful game or tournament without having to deal with rude people?
  102.  
  103. Can't I enjoy a game commentary without being forced to hide online misogynistic, gross comments about women I admire doing their job greatly?
  104.  
  105. "Hey, you look down today! Is your favorite loosing?"
  106.  
  107. [Fanou] "Nah, just idiots online. I guess I must be too sensitive."
  108.  
  109. Are girls and women still expected to be in awe over chess players for everything but their chess prowess? Is there anything we can do to be taken seriously and not fed "dating advice"?
  110.  
  111. So, Magnus, I do not wish to date you. I just wish we lived in a world where your future challenger could be a woman, and where people would not comment on the looks, sex, race, of either commentators of your next match.
  112.  
  113. Yours truly,
  114.  
  115. a girl who stopped playing.
  116.  
  117. (English isn't my mother language, so I've done as best as I could with my limited skills.)
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