Judit Polgar, of Hungary, will soon play against seven men for the title of World Chess Champion. The Championship tournament will be held in Argentina, from September 27 to October 16.
Ms. Polgar is designated as a Grand Master, and is described as "easily the strongest female player in the history of the game."
What they mean to say is that she is the "strongest known female player in the history of the game." Obviously, history is the very long story of women being denied all opportunity to get into such games, or compete with men for anything other than toilet-cleaning and diaper-changing titles.
According to the brief bio below, Polgar owes her success to her refusal to participate in sex-segregated games. I don't know about Hungary, but here in the U.S., sex-segregation in competitive activities begins in the first years of school, long before children are old enough to challenge the sexist practice.
Grandmaster. She is one of the greatest attractions of the World Chess Championship: the strongest woman in chess history. She will be the only woman in a men’s environment, but she lives it as a normal situation and doesn’t care. She is the only woman who has defeated the great Garry Kasparov and also the only one to make it to the top ten (Elo: 2735). Polgar has achieved her success by abstaining from participating in tournaments where there is a sex based separation. Source: Press Office of the WCC San Luis 2005
Hat tip to South End Grounds
feminism gender Judit Polgar Chess sex segregation
