Chess at Ainaloa long house

[Chas]

Ok, I know very little about chess, but I have a question. They separate gender? That seems odd to me...

[taropatch]

Ok, I know very little about chess, but I have a question. They separate gender? That seems odd to me...

Generally chess tournaments are open to all.  A female-only tournament is rare.  The reasoning for holding such an event is below.

The reason for a gender split in chess is to encourage more women to compete as men greatly outweigh women at all levels of competitive chess. Sometimes a woman playing in an absolute tournament can easily feel out of place if there is a lack of female presence. 

Similarly, the WSOP (World Series of Poker), a festival comprised of scores of tournaments has a Ladies-only event.   For some reason, they will allow a man to play in this event but he must pay 10X the entry fee ($10,000 vs. $1000).  Very few men have tried it.

[Chas]

Thanks Taropatch. Too bad it's like that, but that makes perfect sense. As far as the poker thing, maybe it's a version of a man paying to be humiliated by a woman? 

[birdmove]

Ok, I know very little about chess, but I have a question. They separate gender? That seems odd to me...

Generally chess tournaments are open to all.  A female-only tournament is rare.  The reasoning for holding such an event is below.

The reason for a gender split in chess is to encourage more women to compete as men greatly outweigh women at all levels of competitive chess. Sometimes a woman playing in an absolute tournament can easily feel out of place if there is a lack of female presence. 

Similarly, the WSOP (World Series of Poker), a festival comprised of scores of tournaments has a Ladies-only event.   For some reason, they will allow a man to play in this event but he must pay 10X the entry fee ($10,000 vs. $1000).  Very few men have tried it.

        I remember my daughter played in an all girl chess tournament in the castle like Stadium High School years ago. Women's Grand Master Elena Donaldson was there for the girls to support female chess, and she handed out the prizes. She passed away some year back. The chess playing three Polgar  sisters were coached by the father. His attitude was, you are not going to be world class players by playing other women. They fought their way to lofty chess status by playing tournaments against male players, and it darned sure paid off.

[taropatch]

The chess playing three Polar  sisters were coached by the father. His attitude was, you are not going to be world class players by playing other women. They fought their way to lofty chess status by playing tournaments against male players, and it darned sure paid off.

Judit Polgar the youngest and strongest of the three girls competed in the 1998 US Open held in Kona at the old Kona Surf hotel.   I spent the weekend on the west side to catch a glimpse of some of the  "rock stars" of the chess world.  She and Boris Gulko tied for first place.   That was before the cell phone/digital camera era and I regret that I didn't get any pictures.   I remembered that she had a quick draw decision with Gulko.

[taropatch]

First Big Island chess tournament to be held in Ainaloa next month.  Players of all levels and ages are  welcome.

https://www.chess.com/announcements/view...xsXv_DJQMQ

[AaronM]

How did it go Taropatch? Planning another one?

[taropatch]

How did it go Taropatch?  Planning another one?

I did not attend, but according to reports it went quite well.  32 showed up.  Birdmove was there. 
It sounds like the next Big Island Chess Open will be next February.  In the mean time, head on over to Ainaloa Longhouse  Wednesday 9am-2pm and Saturday 4:30pm - 7pm to play for fun.

There is also a Big Island Chess Club online at chess.com