International Chess Bans Trans Women From Women's Competitions

Chess' governing body has decided to separate the Kings and Queens...

While they may appear next to each other on the board, they're not going to be in the same tournament brackets.

According to The Washington Post, the International Chess Federation — or FIDE — has announced a ban on transgender players in women's tournaments. While guidelines said biological men have "no right" to compete in women's tournaments, it mentioned that there would be "further analysis on the matter. That "analysis" is expected to take two years.

Additionally, if a female player transitions, they will vacate their women's titles.

How chess came to this conclusion before Canada's powerlifting governing body did, I will never understand...

Considering the complete lack of physicality involved in the game, it's kind of surprising that FIDE would be on the vanguard of protecting women's sports. As critics of the ban like to point out, it suggests that men have better strategic thinking abilities which isn't necessarily the case.

That's the simplest argument to make against this decision. As is so often the case, that's the one progressives have opted for.

The Center for Trans Equality said the new ruling “relies on ignorant anti-trans ideas” and is “insulting to cis women, to trans women, and to the game itself.”

However, I don't believe that the chess powers that be made the decision based on competitive fairness at all.

Chess is a game that values logic and critical thinking. It makes sense that those values would inform their policies. (Getty Images)

Chess' Ban On Trans Players Is Based In Logic, Critical Thinking

Who do you think runs FIDE? A bunch of people who don't know a rook from a bishop (pointy hat=bishop, that's how I always remember that). Of course not, it's made up of chess players.

Chess players are all about logic. They're about critical thinking. They like things being black and white. I mean, look at the board.

Taking up most progressive ideologies requires tossing logic and critical thinking out the proverbial window.

Black and white tend to come up a lot, just not in the same way.

This just seems like an example of the pendulum swinging back to a point of normalcy. One where people are starting to get comfortable saying, "I don't care what your gender studies professor says, there are two sexes and this is how we do things as a society."

To me, that's the only logical explanation. I don't for a second believe that chess is governed by raging transphobes. I know perennial victims would like to think that's the case, but the truth is simply that fewer and fewer people are willing to play along with their own personal fantasy worlds.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle