3 In 4 Women Surveyed Report Discrimination Or Harassment In Chess

In a new FIDE survey, three in four women and girls who responded had experienced discrimination or harassment in chess settings, while 44% said they had considered leaving the game.

Women and girls account for roughly one in six active FIDE-registered players, with even lower representation among titled players, arbiters, trainers, and federation officials. What would help more of them take up chess, develop their potential, and stay in the game?

Those were the questions examined by FIDE's Commission for Women's Chess in a new survey looking at the barriers women face and how their experiences in the chess community affect their participation. The Women in Chess Representation, Participation and Development Survey was led by Arhan Boyd of the Indian School of Business and WCM Tris-Ann Richards, chair of the commission, and analyzed 672 responses from 127 federations. Its results were published on October 13.

Tris-Ann Richards is the Chair of the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess. Photo: FIDE.

The survey was voluntary, so the findings describe respondents rather than provide a representative estimate for all women in chess. Most questions were optional, and percentages are calculated from those answering each question.

Overall, 63% of respondents reported having experienced gender bias or sexism, while 76% reported at least one of the eight forms of discrimination or harassment measured. The figures were higher among adults and titled players.

"These are the hardest numbers in the report," the authors noted.

These are the hardest numbers in the report.

-FIDE Women in Chess Survey Report

The survey also found that 38% had experienced online abuse or harassment, while 37% reported exclusion from coaching, teams, tournaments, or leadership opportunities. Sixteen percent said they experienced gender bias or sexism often.

Image: 2026 FIDE Women in Chess Representation, Participation and Development Survey, FIDE Women in Chess Commission.

The question of keeping women in the game produced some of the report's most noteworthy findings. Among respondents aged 18-24, 64% had considered stepping away from chess. Among holders of women's FIDE playing titles, the figure was 65%.

Among respondents who reported gender bias, 56% had considered leaving chess, compared with 23% of those who had not. The association remained after accounting for factors including age, title, region, and chess involvement: respondents reporting gender bias had approximately three times the odds of having considered stepping away.

Emilia Castelao, president of the Women in Chess Foundation (WICF) welcomed FIDE's publication of the survey. The nonprofit works to create a safer, more inclusive environment for women and girls in chess.

"To be honest, it is not a surprising number to me given the amount of women that have reached out to WICF looking for support regarding harassment and discrimination and given the lack of SafePlay policy in our sport," she told Chess.com.

"I think that it most likely accurately reflects the experiences of women in chess," she added.

I think that it most likely accurately reflects the experiences of women in chess.

-Emilia Castelao, Women in Chess Foundation

Emilia Castelao is the founder and president of the Women in Chess Foundation. Photo: womeninchess.com.

Financial costs and time constraints were the most commonly selected barriers to chess development or participation. Asked to choose up to three, 66% selected costs such as travel, coaching, and entry fees, while 48% selected time pressures from school, work, or family.

Overall, 84% described the barriers they faced as major or moderate.

Image: FIDE Women in Chess Survey Report 2026.

Separate research by the Women in Chess Foundation identified similar barriers among applicants to its WICF Chessable Scholars program. Its analysis of 175 application essays found that 41% mentioned financial constraints and 33% a lack of coaching or structured training.

Participants in a group interview also described isolation, sexist comments, and stereotypes about girls' abilities. WIM Luciana Morales, director of the WICF-Chessable Scholars program, told Chess.com the two projects identified similar issues.

"Our work at the Women in Chess Foundation and FIDE's recent report reveal strikingly similar barriers: financial constraints, unequal access to training, gender stereotypes, and the struggle to find a supportive community. Girls need investment and opportunities to develop, but they also need environments where they feel respected, supported and welcome."

Girls need investment and opportunities to develop, but they also need environments where they feel respected, supported and welcome.

-Luciana Morales

Asked what would most improve women's participation in their region, respondents to the FIDE survey most frequently selected increased financial support (65%), more local tournaments (60%), better coaching access (52%), and more women in leadership positions (46%).

The report recommends travel and entry-fee assistance, more local rated events, regional coaching programs, and clearer routes into federation leadership. It also calls for codes of conduct covering tournaments, coaching relationships, and online spaces; confidential reporting channels with independent handling; and training for arbiters and organizers to recognize and respond to harassment.

The authors concluded:

Two in three have met gender bias in chess settings, nearly two in five sexual harassment, and the women who have reached the highest levels are the ones most exposed to it. The effect on whether they stay is plain in the raw numbers and does not go away when everything else is taken into account. Chess loses a large share of its women in their early twenties, and it loses, disproportionately, the ones who have experienced bias.

The survey's authors acknowledge that their sample overrepresents active and titled players and federations that promoted the questionnaire. It also does not capture the experiences of women who have already left chess. Regional differences require care, because respondents may differ in what they recognize as discrimination and are willing to disclose.

Castelao said the findings in FIDE's survey should be followed by action from the governing chess body and its president, Timur Turlov.

"I must insist that FIDE, and Timur Turlov, finally establish an international SafePlay Policy that can be adopted by national federations in a flexible way," she said.

Tris-Ann Richards with Ulkar Umudova, member of FIDE's Commission for Women's Chess. Photo: FIDE.

In November 2023, FIDE announced a partnership with Safe Sport International to develop a safeguarding framework covering sexual harassment and the protection of children and other people at risk.

Richards, the chair of the Women's Commission, called for clear safeguarding procedures when presenting the survey at the commission's September 22 meeting in Samarkand.

"I'm very adamant on a clear policy being established to deal with such incidents, a clear FIDE policy, and that each national federation has procedures to deal with incidents like this when they occur. What I hope and will work towards is that every event, every major chess tournament, will make public what their safeguard measures are."

What I hope and will work towards is that every event, every major chess tournament, will make public what their safeguard measures are.

-Tris-Ann Richards

The findings follow years of women publicly describing harassment and its consequences. In 2023, 14 of France's leading women players drew international support when they released an open letter arguing that harassment and sexual violence contributed to women and girls leaving chess.

That same year, WIM Sabrina Chevannes, a chess coach and two-time Olympiad player for England, publicly described sexual harassment and misogyny as reasons she stopped playing professionally.

For Morales, retaining girls and women deserves as much attention as attracting them to the game.

"When even accomplished women consider leaving chess, we have to ask ourselves what we're getting wrong. We spend so much time discussing how to bring more girls into chess. It's time we become equally serious about giving them reasons to stay," she said.