Eighteen-year-old rising Indian star IM Divya Deshmukh has boldly called out sexism in the chess world following her participation in Tata Steel Chess, expressing frustration with comments about her appearance.
Deshmukh finished 12th with 4.5 points in her debut in the Tata Steel Chess Challengers in Wijk aan Zee. The young Indian scor-ed three wins, three draws, and gained seven rating points, a respectable performance for a player ranked fourth worldwide among girls under 20 years of age.
In an Instagram post to her 45,000 followers, she reflected on her journey, describing her performance as a rigorous test of endurance, patience, and resilience. She also expressed gratitude to the organizers for the opportunity to compete among the world’s best.
However, Deshmukh’s subsequent Instagram post was less positive, as she addressed the disturbing focus on her appearance rather than her chess prowess.
In her post that gained almost 500 comments in a thread on Reddit, and was amplified by major Indian media outlets, Deshmukh highlighted the unwarranted attention towards her clothes, hair, and accent, raising questions about the recognition of female chess players.
“I played a few games which I felt were quite good and I was proud of them. I got told by people how the audience was not even bothered with the game but instead focused on every single possible thing in the world: my clothes, hair, accent and every other irrelevant thing. I was quite upset to hear this and I think is the sad truth that people when women play chess they often overlook how good they actually are, the games they play and their strength.”
She added:
“I was quite disappointed to see how everything was discussed about in my interviews (by the audience) except my games, very few people paid attention to it and it is quite a sad thing.”
Tata Steel Chess published three interviews with Deshmukh on YouTube during the tournament and later deleted sexist comments under the videos. Chess coach and YouTuber WIM Yosha Iglesias called out the reactions on X/Twitter.
The 2022 Indian Women’s Champion expressed her frustration with facing such comments, saying it’s not the first time she has experienced it.
“I felt it was unfair in a way because if I go to any guy’s interview there would be way less judgement on a personal level, actual compliments about the game and the player. I feel women are under appreciated and every irrelevant thing is focused on and hated on while guys would probably get away with the same things. I think women face this on a daily basis and I’m barely 18. I have faced so much judgement including hatred over the years for things that don’t even matter. I think women should start getting equal respect.”
In a follow-up comment on her post, she said: “Everyone telling me to ignore it and focus on my games, yes, I do and I do block it out but it does not mean I have to stay quiet about it!”
The Instagram post has to date received more than 10,000 likes.
YouTube star GothamChess called it “extremely sad,” while WGM Jennifer Shahade praised Deshmukh for calling out misogynistic comments:
Chief organizer of Tata Steel Chess, Jeroen van den Berg, told Chess.com that he has personally reached out to Deshmukh following the Instagram post.
The following statement has been posted on social media.
“The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024 was one to remember. More than ever, our tournament is known for our invitation policy. The world’s best chess players meet the emerging top talents here. This resulted in wonderful matches with a lot of fighting chess and only a few draws.
Because we are an open tournament, both men and women play. Completely obvious for us, but apparently not for some other people.
This is evident when you read the message from our participant Divya Deshmukh.
As a leading tournament, we remain committed to promoting women in chess and ensuring a safe and equal sporting enviroment. Step by step, but we will get there.”
In a post on X/Twitter directed at Indian media, Deshmukh said she in no way blames the organizers for the comments. “I wanted to convey that Tata Steel and Wijk have nothing to do with this, I was super grateful to be there and play there and I do not appreciate any bad publicity for them by my name.”
“I also did not “blame the spectators.” All the spectators I met were extremely nice and I would request not to make dramatic headlines of what I have said just for views and reach,” she said.
Several women have come forward to call out sexist behavior in the chess world in the last year. Chess.com last year reported several shocking stories, varying from misogynistic comments to sexual violence and rape.
In August, a group of French women players were fed up and published an open letter denouncing the behavior. “To anyone who has experienced sexist or sexual violence, we want to say: You are not alone. We believe you. We will be there for you.”
The stories led to the creation of a new Women in Chess Foundation, ready to take action against sexism, misogynistic behavior, and sexual harassment toward female players.
Its founder and CEO Emilia Castelao told Chess.com they have sympathy with Deshmukh:
“This is an experience that we are seeing with so many women in the chess world and it is extremely disappointing to see those who are also passionate about chess put down other players like this.”
“We acknowledge that it is really hard to keep on top of moderating comments like this but they can be very upsetting to players and we do think it’s an area where tournaments have to be aware, especially if they have social media teams. Tata Steel making a statement about this and supporting Divya is definitely leading the way for other tournaments, but we still have a long way to go.”
The Women in Chess Foundation joined the chess community in praising Deshmukh for speaking out.
“It encourages not only other women to come forward with their stories, but it allows us to highlight these problems and ensure accountability is taking place. Our organization has brought the topic of moderating comments to their attention and are hoping to improve things for the future. We are super grateful for Divya and her courage and are super excited to see many incredible games from her in the future,” Castelao said. (https://www.chess.com )