'Removing women-only events would kill Women's Chess': FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky

The debate over the relevance of women-only titles and tournaments in chess has been ongoing for several months, with various grandmasters voicing their opinions.

Most recently, FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky defended the continuation of such events, claiming that removing them would deprive women players of critical development opportunities.

"If we were to remove all the possibilities to compete in women-only events, if we were to remove the possibility to support travel and so on, I think we would deprive many of these talents of opportunity under a false pretence that we will try to prove that women can grow in open tournaments better than they can by competing in women-only events," Sutovsky said in an interview on FIDE’s official YouTube channel.

According to Sutovsky, while top women players previously reached a rating of 2500 at ages 15-17, today only a few are rated above 2400 by that age. Currently, no female player apart from Hou Yifan has crossed the 2600 mark in recent years.

"It is also important to rely on real data and not on some hype or some opinion, which is not based on anything rather than personal beliefs or dreams," he emphasised.

Judit Polgar on 'Women Titles'

The discussion around women-only events and titles has been fueled by legendary Hungarian GM Judit Polgar, who, in an interview on the New In Chess podcast last August, strongly advocated for their removal.

"Why do we have women titles? Why don't you have titles for 2000, for 22, for 23, for 24, for 25? Isn’t it much better to have rating titles and not gender-based titles?" Polgar asked.

"It does not matter whether I play an open tournament or a women’s tournament. I'm aiming to get this title. This title belongs to my rating, not to the gender question. It’s my strength, my knowledge, what I can perform. Removing these titles could be a simple yet significant step forward."

Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali, who recently became the third Indian woman to attain the GM title after Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika, echoed Polgar’s views.

"I completely agree with her (Polgar). Early in my career, I felt that titles like WIM and WGM can create a false sense of achievement. In the open category, these titles don't hold much value and can demotivate players from aiming for the GM title," Vaishali had said.

"These titles were initially introduced by FIDE to encourage women's participation, but we now have many girls actively playing chess. Removing these titles could inspire more women to compete directly for GM titles and test their strengths against male players," she added.

Sutovsky's stand

Sutovsky, however, maintained that women’s events provide a necessary stepping stone for development, allowing female players to progress before entering the open category.

"If we have a player who is suited to compete at the highest level, in every event we provide wildcards to women players, should they wish to participate. But it cannot be just artificial, that now we remove all women events and now they play open only. It would simply kill women's chess."

The debate over the necessity of women-only events continues to divide the chess world, with some advocating for complete integration and others arguing for the preservation of structured opportunities for women.

With contrasting views from chess legends and top players, the future of women’s chess remains an evolving conversation.