Why women lose at chess
Why women lose at chess GM Koneru Humpy and Chinese GM Ju Wenjun at the 2019 Skolkovo Women Grand Prix. Photo: David Llada/Fide 12 min read Share Via Read Full Story When she first started participating in chess tournaments at age 7, Koneru Humpy would play in both draws—of boys and girls. “They considered girls as ‘underdog players’, so I was allowed to participate," she recalls. “But mostly girls themselves didn’t dare do that because the competition (in the boys’ draw) was very tough." Humpy was no underdog. In 1999 and 2000, she won the Asian under-12 and national under-14 t...