Yosha Iglesias, a transgender woman and competitive chess player, has officially met all criteria to become a Woman International Master. This comes less than six months after the International Chess Federation limited the participation of trans women in chess tournaments.
In order to become an Woman International Master (WIM), a chess player must reach a rank of at least 2400 points in official games, as well as achieve high results in grandmaster-level tournaments. Iglesias, 36, achieved these goals at a tournament in France on December 30th. She credits Annemarie Meier, another trans chess player, as her inspiration to improve and keep pushing herself. The next step is for her to submit her qualifications to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for approval and certification.
However, things may become complicated by the FIDE’s recently-established stance of trans women. In a bizarre move last August, the FIDE declared that trans women would not be allowed to participate in official women’s chess competitions. The Federation stated that by 2025, they would have a more concrete understanding of “the impact of various factors, including but not limited to, the role of testosterone levels, on chess performance.”
The decision, which came seemingly out of nowhere, was widely criticized for seemingly implying that AMAB people were smarter than AFAB people. The National Center for Transgender Equality also described it as reliant on “ignorant anti-trans ideas.” This of course is referring to the belief that trans women have a biological advantage in physical activities such as sports, a theory which has been refuted multiple times in medical research studies.
Hopefully, Iglesias will not face resistance in officially receiving her WIM certification. The national French Chess Federation (FCE) has openly denounced the FIDE’s decision, calling it “poorly written, and even transphobic.” Furthermore, Iglesias has already legally changed her gender marker in France, while the official ruling seems to be targeted more towards those who have not yet done so.
While the future may be uncertain, Iglesias remains positive thanks to a flood of support from fellow transgender chess enthusiasts. “Some players told me that they quit chess to transition but that my story inspired them to get back to competition. In general, we trans women share such a bond of sisterhood that the happiness of one of us is the joy of all the others. For me, it was the best reward of all.”
