Israeli chess commentator is sacked and accused of sexism
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An Israeli chess commentator was fired and charged with sexism after saying the game “might not be for women.”
Ilya Smirin was live with Fiona Steil-Antoni on round ninth of the Women’s Grand Prix in Astana, Kazakhstan on Tuesday, when he appeared to admit he made the comment private earlier.
Speaking of the match, Mr. Smirin, an Israeli grandmaster, initially named Chinese chess player Zhu Jiner, a female grandmaster, and talked about whether she could be a grandmaster.
He said, “She’s a female grandmaster or something?… Why does she want to be like a male grandmaster in this case?”
Mrs Steil-Antoni replied, “You say, you know, ‘chess may not be for women.’
But Mr. Smirin said he “didn’t say it openly” and it was said in “private conversation.”
The title is a lower Grandmaster title and requires a lower rating of 2,300.
In the game, all chess players can be grandmasters with a rating of 2500 and above and is an award given to elite female chess players.
Ilya Smirin was live with Fiona Steil-Antoni on round ninth of the Women’s Grand Prix in Astana, Kazakhstan on Tuesday, when he appeared to admit he made the comment private earlier.
The Belarusian chess player also appeared to confess that he had said that Grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkin had ‘played like a man’
The Belarusian chess master also appeared to confess that he had said that Grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkin had “played like a man.”
He said, ‘That’s true. She played in Russia super final. She made a small minus, but it was a very strong tournament.
“She also had a rating of 2,600 plus.”
His fellow commentator then asked him, “What does that have to do with playing like a man, only men can play well?”
But Mr. Smirin said, ‘No, no. But she plays in style, positional style.’
He then asked why women can play tournaments with women, but men can’t play with women in female tournaments.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Smirin, who is in the photo, later said he doesn’t want to hurt anyone and loves and respects chess and women.
Speaking with the BBChe later said that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone and loves and respects chess and women.
But he added that the incident had left him somewhat confused, as he didn’t believe he had said anything “very bad, didn’t mean to offend or hurt anyone.”
Mr Smirin said that since the clip was broadcast live, he had been called “racist, sexist and nationalist”.
He added that he thought what he had said on the broadcasts was a little rude, but nothing more.
The grandmaster said most of what he said was a joke. He added that “if we continue like this,” the words husband and wife will soon disappear.
But he said he didn’t mean to hurt anyone, loves and respects chess and women and doesn’t like hypocrisy.
Mr Smirin, pictured, said that since the clip was broadcast live, he had been called “racist, sexist and nationalist.”
The grandmaster, in the photo, said most of what he said was a joke. He added that “if we continue like this” the words husband and wife will soon disappear
While he understands the decision to fire him as a commentator, he hoped “common sense will prevail.”
But his comments caused a storm in the chess world, with former female world champion Susan Polgar calling for a public apology.
The chess master also called for him to be fired for the comments, which she called “highly offensive.”
She said, ‘For the record, I’ve known GM Smirin for over three decades, including our student days in Minsk,’
‘I always had a good relationship with him and respected his chess game. I hope this is just a bad day. I would be very sad and disappointed if he feels this way.”
His comments caused a storm in the chess world, with former female world champion Susan Polgar calling for a public apology
Further outrage erupted online when wife-grandmaster Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova tweeted the clip, writing: ‘Isn’t it a pure form of discrimination? How can such a man work in the official @FIDE_chess broadcast of such an important women’s event?’
A third person, US women’s chess champion Jennifer Shahade, said: “It’s incomprehensible to see such sexism on the broadcast for a women’s event… Fiona did a great job in an awkward convo she should never have attended.”
A third person, US women’s chess champion Jennifer Shahade, said: ‘It’s incomprehensible to see such sexism on the broadcast for a women’s event… Fiona did a great job in an awkward convo she should never have been part of’
In a statement, the International Chess Federation said: “During the live broadcast of the Women’s Grand Prix yesterday, one of the announcers made some very embarrassing comments.
“While we have great respect for Grandmaster Ilya Smirin as a chess player, the views he expressed in the broadcast are completely unacceptable, offensive and do not represent any of the values FIDE stands for.
“Therefore, we offer our unconditional apologies to all those who were offended. In addition, GM Smirin will not continue as a FIDE commentator effective immediately.
FIDE not only strives to increase the representation of women in professional sports and official positions, but also to change the perception of chess as a purely male world.
“Our community should be a place where women feel safe and respected. Therefore, any act of disrespect, sexism or physical, verbal or emotional violence is unacceptable.’