The English Chess Federation has said it will refuse to uphold new rules banning transgender players from women’s tournaments set to be introduced by the sport’s global governing body on Monday.
“The English Chess Federation’s (ECF) position is clear. We do not exclude trans women and this position will not change, despite FIDE’s (the International Chess Federation’s) new policy,” it said in a statement.
“Trans women have worked on behalf of the ECF and played in ECF events, as have trans women in various other chess federations. The ECF notes that similar positions have been adopted by the German Chess Federation, the French Chess Federation and the United States Chess Federation.”
The English federation said the new international rules were “incompatible with English law, particularly with regard to the release of personal data”.
It added, “We cannot see the point of the two-year suspension of the right to participate in women-only competitions, which we view as discriminatory. The ECF restates its commitment to being an inclusive organisation that is welcoming to all.”
Lausanne-based FIDE, explaining its decision, said in a statement last week, “In the case of a gender transition from male to female, the player is not entitled to take part in women’s events until a new decision is taken by FIDE.”
The global governing body stressed, however, that a player who has changed gender faced no restrictions on playing in the open section.
The measures do not apply to transgender men competing in the men’s categories, but they will be stripped of any women’s titles they won before their transition, according to the temporary rules.
According to FIDE, gender reassignment “has a significant impact on a player’s status and future eligibility for tournaments”, without providing any further details about the reasons for this.
The announcement has drawn criticism from transgender players.
Transgender journalist and chess player Ana Valens wrote in an article published on The Mary Sue website, “I don’t think I’m smarter than most cis women, nor do I think that my pre-transition years have given me an innate advantage at chess.”
In the world of sport, the International Cycling Union (UCI), World Athletics and the International Swimming Federation have also taken steps to exclude transgender athletes from women’s competition, largely on the basis that there is a significant retained physical advantage from being born a biological male.
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