If—

• Judit Polgár, I might never have become a chess grandmaster if I’d stuck to women-only tournaments, The Guardian, November 30, 2019

Imagine if the Chinese grandmaster 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) — who became women’s world champion in 2010 at the age of 16, and is now the highest ranked female player in the world — had played in open tournaments since her teenage years. She has announced that she is not interested in women’s tournaments any more, and it will be interesting to see how much this improves her rating. [Read more].

Judit Polgár playing 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov at the 18th SuperGM Linares Chess Tournament in Linares, Spain, in February 2001. Photo: Enrique Alonso/AFP.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

Judit Polgár

Jeremy, you better tell Tony to think twice before accepting such a job

• Leon Watson, English Chess Federation turns down two female candidates for role promoting game to women – and hands job to man, The Telegraph, July 1, 2018

Hungarian chess Grandmaster Judit Polgár. Credit: Heathcliff O’Malley for The Telegraph.

Radio Signal Finding

What does it take for a woman to survive and excel in the ruthlessly competitive, male-dominated world of chess? Kim Chakanetsa meets Judit Polgár from Hungary and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) from China – probably the two strongest female players ever – to find out. So tune your radio to the BBC World Service’s The Conversation on Monday, July 2, 2018 at 16,32 local time.