After Divya Deshmukh’s post on women in chess, Susan Polgar speaks out: ‘I consciously chose to look ugly’

18-year-old International Master Divya Deshmukh had called out sexism in chess earlier by pointing out how fans are fixated on shallow aspects when talking about her, unlike when talking about male chess players.

Susan Polgar with the trophy after winning a blitz tournament in Czechoslovakia in 1986, where she was the only woman in a field of 19 players. (PHOTO: Susan Polgar via X)

A day after Indian chess player Divya Deshmukh called out the rampant sexualisation of women players in the sport by fans, chess legend Susan Polgar spoke up about the misogyny she faced all through her career.

In a post on social media on Sunday after her campaign at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, 18-year-old Divya, an International Master with a standard rating of 2420, had spoken of how spectators treated women in chess by focussing on their “clothes, hair, accent and every other irrelevant thing.”

“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,” Divya wrote.

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Reacting to Divya’s post, Grandmaster Susan Polgar opened up about her own experiences. She said that to avoid being sexualised, she “consciously tried to look as plain and unattractive as possible” in her early playing days.

“When I was a young chess player, I never did not even touch makeup until I was in my 20s. There were two main reasons: I was tired of being sexually harassed/assaulted and hit on constantly by male chess players. And we were so poor that I had no money for fancy clothes. Sexism and discrimination in chess still exist today, just not as much.

“I wanted to prove myself on the board. I could not care less what people think about how I looked. I was NOT there to “pick up” men. I was very thankful that my parents (especially my mother) were always with me at tournaments to try to protect me. It is better today but still bad at times,” she wrote.

In the past, Polgar has spoken about being sexually assaulted by people in the chess fraternity during events.

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“I was often the only girl in all-men chess tournaments. And the behavior of some of these male chess players was absolutely appalling. It sometimes became very dangerous. I was many times fearful for my life. Some male chess players cannot take NO for an answer, especially when they had too much to drink. Some tried to physically and sexually assault me,” she added.