The regulatory organization that governs international chess competition announced this week that transgender women would effectively be banned from playing in womenâs events until further notice.
In an updated version of its handbook, the International Chess Federation (known by its French acronym FIDE) said that players who transition âfrom a male to a femaleâ have âno rightâ to play in official events âuntil further FIDEâs [sic] decision is made.â Any future decision will be based on what the organization vaguely called âfurther analysisâ in a process that could take up to two years.
No justification was offered for the decision, which was first reported Wednesday by The Times of London.
Yosha Iglesias, a French chess coach who holds a FIDE Master title and identifies as a trans woman, questioned the rule change in a series of tweets on Tuesday.
âCan someone tell me what qualifies as an official FIDE event?â she asked. âWill I be allowed to play the French Championship in 3 days? The European Club Cup in September?â
Ana Valens, a trans writer for The Mary Sue, also challenged the news in an op-ed titled âOh Great, Now I Canât Play Chess Because Iâm Trans.â
âThis raises many questions,â Valens wrote. âWhy are trans women being banned from womenâs chess? Whatâs the point? Are trans women innately better at chess? Are we too smart to play with cis women? I for one donât think I am smarter than most cis women, nor do I think my pre-transition years gave me some sort of innate advantage at chess, so this shouldnât be the case. Yet FIDE is treating trans women as some sort of threat to the integrity of cisgender women playing chess.â
The new guidelines in FIDEâs handbook also address other potential issues to do with transgender players, often in stumbling and contradictory terms.
One rule mandates that any trans men who, pre-transition, earned titles in a womenâs tournament be stripped of those accomplishments, though the âabolished women title may be transferred into a general title of the same or lower level.â On the other hand, if a trans woman has won a menâs title, she will be allowed to keep that title in full.
Another states that FIDE maintains the right to inform event organizers if a player was âa transgender,â allowing for the possibility that transgender players could be outed without their consent. (The usage of the word âtransgenderâ as a noun rather than an adjective is discouraged by the LGBTQ+ community and groups like GLAAD.)
The handbook also says that FIDE will only recognize a playerâs gender identity that is âconsistent with the identity they maintain in their non chess life AND that has been confirmed by national authorities based on a due legal and formal process of change.â
And if a player wants to change their gender on their official FIDE ID, also known as a FIN, they must first battle through what appears to be a hellscape of bureaucratic red tape. âAs a rule,â the handbook sniffs, âchange of the gender is not a reason for a person to get a new FIN, unless there is a special, strictly exceptional reason for the person not to publicly reveal their previous identity.â
However, it goes on to say, if a player pushes for their gender to be changed in the organizationâs database, they must provide ârelevant proof of the changeâ to an official known as a national rating officer. The handbook provides a laundry list of examples of said âproof,â including birth certificates, passports, and legal documents.
âChanging oneâs legal documentation is a difficult and near-impossible process in some areas,â Valens noted in her op-ed, âincluding various U.S. red states, meaning FIDEâs new regulations put some trans players in an impossible dilemma.â
In a note at the top of the handbookâs section on transgender players, FIDE allowed that âthis is an evolving issue for chess,â leaving the door open for further policy tweaks in the future âin line with research evidence.â
The new rules will go into effect on August 21.
The move marks the latest spasm of what critics have called transphobic panic in international sports. In March, World Athletics banned transgender women who had gone through male puberty from competing in womenâs events. The organization said its new rules prioritized âfairness and the integrity of the female competition.â
In June, the International Rugby League prohibited trans athletes from competing in sanctioned womenâs matches, arguing that there was âa requirement and responsibility to further consult and complete additional researchâ before the ban could be lifted.
Last month, both Union Cycliste Internationale and World Aquatics joined the fracas. UCI said that women who had âtransitioned after [male] pubertyâ would no longer be allowed to compete in womenâs events to âensure equal opportunities.â World Aquatics took a similar tack, but also announced that it planned to establish an âopenâ category for all athletes, regardless of their gender identity.
While FIDE is conducting âfurther analysis,â it says in the handbook, transgender players will be allowed to compete in a similar âopen section.â
Valens scorned the concession in her op-ed, writing, âItâs like kicking dirt in my face and offering me a hand up afterwards!â