The world's top chess federation has ruled that transgender women can't compete in its official events for females until an assessment of gender change is made by its officials. The decision by the Switzerland-based International Chess Federation (FIDE) was published on Monday and has drawn criticism from advocacy groups and supporters of transgender rights, per the AP. FIDE said it and its member federations increasingly have received recognition requests from players who identify as transgender, and that the participation of transgender women would depend on an analysis of individual cases that could take up to two years.
"Change of gender is a change that has a significant impact on a player's status and future eligibility to tournaments, therefore it can only be made if there is a relevant proof of the change provided," the federation said. "In the event that the gender was changed from a male to a female, the player has no right to participate in official FIDE events for women until [a] further FIDE's decision is made," it said. Holders of women's titles who change their genders to male would see those titles "abolished," the federation said, while holding out the possibility of a reinstatement "if the person changes the gender back to a woman."
"If a player has changed the gender from a man into a woman, all the previous titles remain eligible," the federation said. It acknowledged that such questions regarding transgender players were an "evolving issue for chess" and that "further policy may need to be evolved in the future in line with research evidence." The National Center for Transgender Equality slammed the new policy. It "assumes that cis women couldn't be competitive against cis men" and is "insulting to cis women, to trans women, and to the game itself," the nonprofit said. The federation has open competitions that allow all players to take part, as well as specialized categories, such as for women, young players and even computers. (More transgender stories.)
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