Chess-World Chess Federation Bars Transgender Players From Women’s Events

(Reuters) – The Worldwide Chess Federation (FIDE) mentioned it has banned transgender girls from competing in its official girls’s occasions whereas it conducts a “thorough evaluation” of developments, a course of that might take as much as two years.

The brand new rules, authorised by FIDE’s council this month, will come into impact on Aug. 21 and require transgender gamers to offer “adequate proof of a gender change that complies with their nationwide legal guidelines and rules”.

“Within the occasion that the gender was modified from a male to a feminine, the participant has no proper to take part in official FIDE occasions for girls till additional FIDE’s resolution is made,” the federation mentioned.

“FIDE acknowledges that that is an evolving situation for chess and that apart from technical rules on transgender rules additional coverage might must be developed sooner or later in step with analysis proof,” the federation mentioned.

In an emailed assertion to Reuters on Thursday, a FIDE spokesperson mentioned the choice was made to higher outline the processes concerned when a participant adjustments gender.

“The transgender laws is quickly creating in lots of nations and plenty of sport our bodies are adopting their very own insurance policies. FIDE shall be monitoring these developments and see how we will apply them to the world of chess,” the assertion mentioned.

“Two years is a scope of sight that appeared cheap for the thorough analyses of such developments. It’s to set a sure deadline for a brand new reiteration of those insurance policies, with out speeding it.”

Transgender gamers can nonetheless compete within the “open” classes of tournaments, it added.

Most chess competitions are open to all gamers, aside from a number of tournaments such because the Ladies’s World Championship.

Governing our bodies for sports activities together with biking, athletics and swimming have tightened their participation guidelines for transgender girls in elite feminine competitions.

(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, Writing by Hritika Sharma in Hyderabad; Enhancing by Peter Rutherford)

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