Different Chess Rankings for women • page 5/6 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

#30-#39
Since 2017 U1800 direct titles are no longer possible* because FIDE introduced rating floors, see §0.62 at https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B01Regulations2017

"For a direct title to be awarded immediately an applicant has to have achieved at some time or other a minimum rating as follows:
GM 2300
IM 2200
FM 2100
CM 2000
WGM 2100
WIM 2000
WFM 1900
WCM 1800

If an applicant is rated lower the title is awarded conditionally and will be awarded finally on request by the respective federation as soon as the minimum rating is achieved. Any player with a conditional title may take a lower title when they reach the required rating for that lower title."

well, of course an already titled player may drop below 1800 ;-)

#30-#39 Since 2017 U1800 direct titles are no longer possible* because FIDE introduced rating floors, see §0.62 at https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B01Regulations2017 "For a direct title to be awarded immediately an applicant has to have achieved at some time or other a minimum rating as follows: GM 2300 IM 2200 FM 2100 CM 2000 WGM 2100 WIM 2000 WFM 1900 WCM 1800 If an applicant is rated lower the title is awarded conditionally and will be awarded finally on request by the respective federation as soon as the minimum rating is achieved. Any player with a conditional title may take a lower title when they reach the required rating for that lower title." * well, of course an already titled player may drop below 1800 ;-)

1 chess, 1 rating!

As a youth coach myself i see there's seriously fewer girls starting chess than boys, so chess is still heavily skewed in the boys' favor. Not only that, but girls do seem more likely to drop out. Not because they can't keep up, but because they often aren't motivated enough to aim for higher when there's often only 1-2 girls in a whole group. There's little fun being the only girl in a group full of boys after all.

I feel the main aim of specific titles for women is to help motivate more ladies to aim for greater heights, as more variety in the player base is all the more healthy for chess in general. And female titled players being lower rated than male titled players. Well... the lack of competition is the main reason for that. If there was a larger percentage of female players the problem would solve itself. More competition for those titles automatically means you need a higher rating to achieve them.

As a youth coach myself i see there's seriously fewer girls starting chess than boys, so chess is still heavily skewed in the boys' favor. Not only that, but girls do seem more likely to drop out. Not because they can't keep up, but because they often aren't motivated enough to aim for higher when there's often only 1-2 girls in a whole group. There's little fun being the only girl in a group full of boys after all. I feel the main aim of specific titles for women is to help motivate more ladies to aim for greater heights, as more variety in the player base is all the more healthy for chess in general. And female titled players being lower rated than male titled players. Well... the lack of competition is the main reason for that. If there was a larger percentage of female players the problem would solve itself. More competition for those titles automatically means you need a higher rating to achieve them.

yabbadabbadooooooo

#44

@kleineme I thought WCMs had to be 2000? 1800 is just pathetic for a titled player; if that's what it takes, then even I would be titled if I were a woman.

SalsPizzeria

#45

Chess is chess. Gender doesn't matter in chess. The game and the rules do not change based on a person's gender. There should be NO difference in the way men and women are scored. Period.

#46

kleineme

#47

@yabbadabbadooooooo #44
Right, for a regular WCM title you would have to reach 2000 Elo once in a lifetime. But there are so called direct titles which are awarded based on rankings in certain (Sub-)Continental, Regional or International tournaments, see https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B01DirectTitles2017.

Before 2017 they would have awarded the title regardless of rating, which led to some titled kids with way too low ratings. Now you have to reach the rating floor quoted above, which is 200 points below the threshold for the regular title.

So if you were female and had 1800 Elo, you would also have to score 50% out of 7 games in an Olymiad or win a medal in a Continental U8 or U10 championship, as just two examples for achieving a direct WCM title. Good luck :-)

@yabbadabbadooooooo #44 Right, for a regular WCM title you would have to reach 2000 Elo once in a lifetime. But there are so called direct titles which are awarded based on rankings in certain (Sub-)Continental, Regional or International tournaments, see https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B01DirectTitles2017. Before 2017 they would have awarded the title regardless of rating, which led to some titled kids with way too low ratings. Now you have to reach the rating floor quoted above, which is 200 points below the threshold for the regular title. So if you were female and had 1800 Elo, you would also have to score 50% out of 7 games in an Olymiad or win a medal in a Continental U8 or U10 championship, as just two examples for achieving a direct WCM title. Good luck :-)

CM Sarg0n

#48

Such threads are utterly cringy. Get a chess life!

Biancoazzurro

#49

It's a difficult topic, on one hand you want to incentivate women to play chess, on the other side is a clear case of discrimination.

Hou Yifan was invited to top tournaments and made money for the sole fact that she's a woman. Most male players of similar strength are basically unknown to most chess fans.

It's a difficult topic, on one hand you want to incentivate women to play chess, on the other side is a clear case of discrimination. Hou Yifan was invited to top tournaments and made money for the sole fact that she's a woman. Most male players of similar strength are basically unknown to most chess fans.

ahamz

#50

I don't really see an issue with it. Everyone knows the difference between a WGM and GM, and if, as a woman, you don't want to take the title of WGM then you don't have to. It's a way of recognizing women who play chess who are a minority in the chess community by granting a title only available to women at a lower rank than the regular title, which is available to all people regardless of gender if they achieve it. In just about every male dominated field women are recognized when they find success because they're breaking into something and doing well when traditionally primarily men have achieved that. It doesn't cheapen being titled because every title is its own separate achievement and requires its own level of play to achieve.

Everyone complaining that it's so hard to be a man can either get used to it or choose not to be a man anymore. Life is hard. There are advantages and disadvantages to being a man or a woman. Just be the best person you can be and play out the position you've played into. In life you can't just resign on move 2 because you don't want to play against the Sicilian, or on move 20 when you blunder a rook. You have to keep playing. Even if you get mated you still must play on. So don't worry so much about what anyone else gets. Just worry about yourself and how you can improve your position. When you start a game and you have the black pieces, do you expend any mental energy wishing you had the first move, or do you just focus on winning? Use the resources available to you, do your best to make good decisions and learn from bad ones. You can achieve. You just have to work hard and think things through. Luck helps too if you can find it. But don't count on it.

I don't really see an issue with it. Everyone knows the difference between a WGM and GM, and if, as a woman, you don't want to take the title of WGM then you don't have to. It's a way of recognizing women who play chess who are a minority in the chess community by granting a title only available to women at a lower rank than the regular title, which is available to all people regardless of gender if they achieve it. In just about every male dominated field women are recognized when they find success because they're breaking into something and doing well when traditionally primarily men have achieved that. It doesn't cheapen being titled because every title is its own separate achievement and requires its own level of play to achieve. Everyone complaining that it's so hard to be a man can either get used to it or choose not to be a man anymore. Life is hard. There are advantages and disadvantages to being a man or a woman. Just be the best person you can be and play out the position you've played into. In life you can't just resign on move 2 because you don't want to play against the Sicilian, or on move 20 when you blunder a rook. You have to keep playing. Even if you get mated you still must play on. So don't worry so much about what anyone else gets. Just worry about yourself and how you can improve your position. When you start a game and you have the black pieces, do you expend any mental energy wishing you had the first move, or do you just focus on winning? Use the resources available to you, do your best to make good decisions and learn from bad ones. You can achieve. You just have to work hard and think things through. Luck helps too if you can find it. But don't count on it.