dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (10/04/83)
I dunno about golf and bowling, but I can speak to chess.
The original article made a good point. Steven Maurer points out
that chess masters run out of stamina after 40. While not entirely
true, it also misses the point all along the spectrum of tournament
chess. The difference is NOT due to physical differences.
The vast majority of players at chess tournaments are male. (Cultural
bias may have a lot to do with this, of course; parents give Johnny
a chess set and Sally a dollhouse...) Tournament chess is indeed draining,
but most of the drain is mental. After a 6-hour tournament game you
feel like a zombie, but physically you're OK.
Female players simply do not rank anywhere near male players, even
(from my experience) taking into account the relative paucity of
female players at tournaments. In the tournaments I have run or
been involved in, most of the females were towards the bottom end.
There are indeed good female players. At the world and national championship
levels, there are separate championship tournaments. The top 10 female players
in Canada rank nowhere near the top 10 male players, based on rating, which
is an objective numerical measurement determined solely was a function of
games played with other rated players. (I can dig the numbers out of
the latest Chess Federation of Canada bulletin if anyone doubts this.)
I believe the difference is due to the fact that women generally
do not put the time into becoming proficient at chess. It takes a lot
of time, a lot of tournaments, a lot of reading. Chess clubs, at
the serious level [i.e., full-time club open every day, not one that
meets once a week at the local library], are male-dominated, and many
women might feel uncomfortable at spending hours among the strange
cross-section of society that dwells in such places.
Why do women spend less time at it? It's one or both of
two things: they are brought up to be less interested in "such things"
(chess, Meccano, construction, computing, hardware...), and they have
less natural, instinctive interest in "such things". (Don't knock the
natural-instinctive point. Consider that women ARE instinctively and
naturally better at mothering/nurturing/nursing/caring/sympathizing.)
In case anyone wonders about my qualifications: I used to be the President
of the Toronto Chess Club, and I have organized, directed and played in
many tournaments under the sanction of the Chess Federation of Canada
(although I've been out of it for a number of years). I'm also a
life member of the CFC.
Dave Sherman
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{cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo,uw-beaver}!utcsrgv!lsuc!dave