Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 01:06 AM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

December 21, 2016

Regulations for the Women`s World Chess Championship Cycle

3. 2. Tournament format

3. 2. 1 There shall be five (5) rounds of matches, comprising two (2) games per round, with the winners progressing to the next round. The 6th round (final round) shall be played over four (4) games and the winner will be declared Women’s World Champion.

Round 1: there shall be 64 players
Round 2: there shall be 32 players
Round 3: there shall be 16 players
Round 4: there shall be 8 players
Round 5: there shall be 4 players
Round 6: there shall be 2 players

3.2.2 Schedule of the Women’s World Championship

Round 1: 2 days play + tiebreaks
Round 2: 2 days play + tiebreaks
Round 3: 2 days play + tiebreaks
Round 4: 2 days play + tiebreaks
Round 5: 2 days play + tiebreaks

Free Day

Round 6: 4 days play + tiebreaks

Each tiebreak is one day for a total of 23 days.

See the regs at:

http://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/regulationsWWCC.pdf

**Bob Armstrong** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 06:52 AM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

FIDE does support women's chess - for this it deserves credit.

However, it is sad that they fail to acknowledge the second-class nature of the process for determining the Women's World Chess Champion, when the process is compared to the open World Chess Championship process.

This is the objection of the current Women's World Champion, Hou Yifan. I, personally, as Ct'ers know, have been arguing this for year's now. It seems all submissions are for naught.

Bob A

**Hal Bond** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 09:40 AM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Agreed Bob, for the most part. The Women's World Championship process begs many questions. There are plenty of opinions but NO BIDS. Sponsors are very tough to find, particularly for an event that does not produce a World Champion. Hou Yifan's thoughts were conveyed by the Chinese Federation at the Baku Congress. FIDE invited China to present a bid for the cycle after 2018 (Khanty Mansiysk). I hope they do.

**Bob Armstrong** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 09:49 AM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Originally posted by Hal Bond View Post

Agreed Bob, for the most part. The Women's World Championship process begs many questions. There are plenty of opinions but NO BIDS. Sponsors are very tough to find, particularly for an event that does not produce a World Champion. Hou Yifan's thoughts were conveyed by the Chinese Federation at the Baku Congress. FIDE invited China to present a bid for the cycle after 2018 (Khanty Mansiysk). I hope they do.

Is it not contradictory to expect China, who just panned the WWCC cycle, to now fund it?

Also, might sponsors be more likely once the WWCC is no longer second-class?

Women's World Championships in many sports are now seen as more interesting and exciting than the open ones, and now receive mucho funding (e.g. Women's tennis - not suggesting chess is as popular as chess; just saying women's sports across the board generate interest - is it not the case that more than 1/2 the planetary human population is female?).

Also, as I understand it, Yifan suggested that the current WWCC cycle already has many of the key elements of a first class WWCC in place. A modest readjustment of the women's cycle would not require a tremendous influx of cash. No one is suggesting as far as I know, at this point, that the monetary rewards of the WWCC should match those of the WCC. We should cross bridges when we come to them. And fear of future problems is not a reason to deny equality where justly needed.

Bob A

**Brad Thomson** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 10:23 AM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Sponsors increase in approximate proportion to the numbers of spectators. So the question is how to get people watching women's chess specifically? I certainly do not have an answer to this question, nor am I even sure that there is one. People like watching the best chess games, but I do not think they care so much who is playing them, or whether the player is male or female. Personally I have never understood the need for chess events that exclude males from playing. It seems sexist to me. I can understand segregation in the physical sports such as tennis, but not in chess. Unless we are prepared to argue that one gender is simply not as good at chess as the other, we are wrong to hold sexist chess events. My opinion is that we are sexist, and that we will be so long as any distinction between male and female is made in chess.

**Egidijus Zeromskis** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 11:04 AM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Originally posted by Brad Thomson View Post

Unless we are prepared to argue that one gender is simply not as good at chess as the other, we are wrong to hold sexist chess events.

imho, potentially both are equal but actually they really different, just look at the rating list.
If there are organizers and players who want to create these events, I don't see problems with that.

**Egidijus Zeromskis** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 11:10 AM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post

QUALIFIERS for the WORLD WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP 2017

"3. 1.
4. The list of qualified players and the reserves will be published on the FIDE web site"

When will it be published?

**Bob Armstrong** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 11:56 AM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Originally posted by Brad Thomson View Post

Sponsors increase in approximate proportion to the numbers of spectators. So the question is how to get people watching women's chess specifically? I certainly do not have an answer to this question, nor am I even sure that there is one. People like watching the best chess games, but I do not think they care so much who is playing them, or whether the player is male or female. Personally I have never understood the need for chess events that exclude males from playing. It seems sexist to me. I can understand segregation in the physical sports such as tennis, but not in chess. Unless we are prepared to argue that one gender is simply not as good at chess as the other, we are wrong to hold sexist chess events. My opinion is that we are sexist, and that we will be so long as any distinction between male and female is made in chess.

Hi Brad:

The detriment of a separate and parallel women's system is well stated. The argument against the elimination of the parallel women's system at this time, as you likely well know, is that the incubator character of the parallel system is still needed for a bit longer, because women are not yet advanced enough to enter the open system and compete on an equal footing. I argued years ago, as you have, that the parallel system has, and continues to, inhibit the increasing strength of women players. Only by playing in the open system, always, as do now our junior girls, to a high extent (except for the FIDE system and its national clones), will the quickening advancement of the quality of women's chess occur.

The argument against a full parallel system, with titles, etc., is quite irrelevant to the issue of "all-female tournaments", and finding organizers willing to run them. There is no difficulty with having like players enjoy playing among themselves in official tournaments. It only needs enough demand, and enough revenue to satisfy the entrepreneurial organizer. We have junior tournament, senior tournaments, have heard of "only over 18 y.o. tournaments", and we could have tournaments of "glasses only" players (My category). So what is wrong with women only tournaments.....but then it must be accepted that it is also legitimate to have men-only tournaments. The only criteria is that it meet the capitalism test.

Bob A

**Peter McKillop** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 02:02 PM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Brad and Bob, it seems to me that if there are women and girls who wish to play in female-only chess events, then that is sufficient reason for such events to be held. Why does there exist this peculiar segment of sexist males who for some strange reason feel compelled to attack female-only events on the basis that, "Oh, we only want them to play better chess" or "Oh, THEY are being sexist because men and boys can't play in their female-only events." Leave the women and girls alone and let them decide how they wish to enjoy the game.

**Bob Armstrong** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 02:38 PM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Hi Peter:

Your point of listening to the women is well-taken - in the past, I have tried to present my opinion to women/girl chess players to consider......I do try not to tell them what to do (though I may slide off my purpose sometimes, unintentionally). (But my own personal analysis of what is right and wrong has every chance of being correct, even re a women's issue).

So what does the Women's World Chess Champion, the highest rated woman player, the only woman player to crack 2600, and who now plays almost exclusively in open events say?? She says that the current WWCC cycle is inferior and unequal in relation to the open tournament; it is second-class (I say it is discriminatory, though I think she has never used that term herself).

So....she refuses to defend her title in the current system!! Do we listen to her or not?

FIDE certainly doesn't! Should we just blindly follow FIDE like sheep chess players?

Bob A

**Peter McKillop** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 03:22 PM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Originally posted by Bob Armstrong View Post

Hi Peter:

Your point of listening to the women is well-taken - in the past, I have tried to present my opinion to women/girl chess players to consider......I do try not to tell them what to do (though I may slide off my purpose sometimes, unintentionally). (But my own personal analysis of what is right and wrong has every chance of being correct, even re a women's issue).

So what does the Women's World Chess Champion, the highest rated woman player, the only woman player to crack 2600, and who now plays almost exclusively in open events say?? She says that the current WWCC cycle is inferior and unequal in relation to the open tournament; it is second-class (I say it is discriminatory, though I think she has never used that term herself).

So....she refuses to defend her title in the current system!! Do we listen to her or not?

FIDE certainly doesn't! Should we just blindly follow FIDE like sheep chess players?

Bob A

I think you've misunderstood Hou Yifan, Bob. She objects to the women's world champion being determined by knockout tournament. She would rather see a cycle like the men have, whereby a challenger is determined and then the existing world champion defends her title in a match. Failing that, she would accept a knockout tournament to determine a challenger provided that the existing champ gets to (again) defend her title in a match. A helpful link: http://en.chessbase.com/post/why-hou...t-of-the-cycle

**Bob Armstrong** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 04:24 PM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Originally posted by Peter McKillop View Post

I think you've misunderstood Hou Yifan, Bob. She objects to the women's world champion being determined by knockout tournament. She would rather see a cycle like the men have, whereby a challenger is determined and then the existing world champion defends her title in a match. Failing that, she would accept a knockout tournament to determine a challenger provided that the existing champ gets to (again) defend her title in a match. I hope you won't be too angry with me if I speculate that you've misinterpreted her

I hope I haven't put words in Yifan's mouth that she didn't say.....It is my take that she has said that the WWCC cycle, as it currently stands, is inferior and she won't play in it.

Now what she wants or will accept as a fix may indeed not be an exact duplicate of the open WCC cycle. To the extent that I implied she only wanted this, then yes I was not clear enough about the alternate acceptable options she was putting forward.

What I have not said, I hope, is that she is against the separate, parallel women's system, with women's titles, etc. I don't believe she has ever, at least publicly, taken this position. Even, as far as I know, Judit Polgar, who totally refused to ever play in the women's parallel system, never said publicly anything against the women's system.....it was just her personal choice.

The Women's Parallel Chess System: I think it is Brad and I alone on the whole planet of the chess world who believe that now is the time to collapse the incubator.....it has only minimally helped since it was started, and may have in fact retarded the possible speedy process of improvement that women's chess might have undergone had it not existed. Or is there some other totally deluded chess player (Love to find a female player) who agrees with us (And I hope, Brad, I have not put words into your mouth that you did not say....give me a McKillop tongue lashing if I have, and let me know your true position).

Bob A

**Peter McKillop** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 04:46 PM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Originally posted by Bob Armstrong View Post

I hope I haven't put words in Yifan's mouth that she didn't say.....It is my take that she has said that the WWCC cycle, as it currently stands, is inferior and she won't play in it.

Now what she wants or will accept as a fix may indeed not be an exact duplicate of the open WCC cycle. To the extent that I implied she only wanted this, then yes I was not clear enough about the alternate acceptable options she was putting forward.

What I have not said, I hope, is that she is against the separate, parallel women's system, with women's titles, etc. I don't believe she has ever, at least publicly, taken this position. Even, as far as I know, Judit Polgar, who totally refused to ever play in the women's parallel system, never said publicly anything against the women's system.....it was just her personal choice.

The Women's Parallel Chess System: I think it is Brad and I alone on the whole planet of the chess world who believe that now is the time to collapse the incubator.....it has only minimally helped since it was started, and may have in fact retarded the possible speedy process of improvement that women's chess might have undergone had it not existed. Or is there some other totally deluded chess player (Love to find a female player) who agrees with us (And I hope, Brad, I have not put words into your mouth that you did not say....give me a McKillop tongue lashing if I have, and let me know your true position).

Bob A

You and Brad should leave female chessplayers alone. They don't need your brand of condescension and paternalism - they're perfectly capable of figuring things out on their own. They don't need you and Brad to "collapse the incubator." Did it occur to you that women might not view female-only events as incubators? Perhaps they view them as a way to enjoy a game without having to put up with a bunch of assholes.

**Bob Armstrong** · Thursday, 22nd December, 2016, 04:57 PM

Re: Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Originally posted by Peter McKillop View Post

You and Brad should leave female chessplayers alone. They don't need your brand of condescension and paternalism - they're perfectly capable of figuring things out on their own. They don't need you and Brad to "collapse the incubator." Did it occur to you that women might not view female-only events as incubators? Perhaps they view them as a way to enjoy a game without having to put up with a bunch of assholes.

Hi Peter:

I won't speak for Brad on this but you miss the distinction I have all along made in my position.

Women-only " Events" (=Tournaments) - I have always supported this!

Parallel Women-Only Separate System (complete with women's titles) - a totally different issue! I have always proposed to women to ditch it (I am not telling them what to do; I am presenting a position for them to consider). It has been more of a hindrance than a help. And even though I am a male, I can have a correct opinion on this.

But women should decide this, I would think.

I do concede that the fact that no woman player has publicly agreed with me is, I suppose, some proof that they feel I can take my personal male recommendation to them, and stick it where the sun don't shine. :)

Bob A

Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

Women’s World Championship 2017, Tehran

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