A trans teenage girl wins a chess title and now people want her banned
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/relationships/a-trans-teenage-girl-wins-a-chess-title-and-now-people-want-her-banned/ar-AA1Ic4ro?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=ae743aa4c0404f46fd0371076c2dca3f&ei=10
Story by Jim Buzinski (8 July 2025)
2025 update: Nora Heidemann is a trans teenager in Germany who loves chess and is ranked No. 59,921 in the world, which hardly makes her elite. Yet her win last month in an under-18 national tournament has sparked calls for a ban. This shows this issue is not going away and my column below from 2023 is as relevant today as it was then, since the arguments against Heidemann playing are the same as used previously.
Under the new guidelines from the International Chess Federation — known by its French acronym, FIDE — individuals who transition from male to female have "no right" to compete in official events for women until "further analysis" is made, which could take up to two years. Additionally, if a player holds titles in women's categories and transitions to male, "the women titles are to be abolished," while if the player transitions from male to female, the titles will remain, the handbook says.
Last I looked, chess pieces didn't weigh 100 pounds and thus require strength or require someone to run fast or jump high. These have all been reasons why various federations such as swimming, cycling and track and field have changed their rules. While I think these other sports bodies have policies that are too restrictive, they have at least a veneer of science behind them. But chess? It's pure transphobia.
It's not just transphobia, it's also rolled up in misogyny;
"Women are intellectually inferior to men, therefore not as good as men at chess, and should only compete against each other."
Dumb