海角大神

Just days before her 11th birthday, Carissa Yip became the youngest female chess player to defeat a grandmaster. Pushing her opponent, Alexander Ivanov, to the back of the board, Carissa pounced on a crucial knight and pinned his queen. A few moves later and the match was over.

鈥淚 was feeling really proud of myself for that,鈥� says Carissa, who turns 16 on Sept. 10. 鈥淏ecause when I was younger, I was like, 鈥楧ang, grandmasters are so good,鈥� and then I beat one.鈥�

Carissa learned the game from her father, Percy, at the age of 6. She鈥檚 now one rank away from grandmaster; last year, she won the girls鈥� division in the United States Junior Championships. According to the International Chess Federation, she is ranked first among women players in America. Her success 鈥� so great and so quick 鈥� is remarkable.

But decades ago, it would have been almost unthinkable 鈥� not because Carissa is just a high school junior, but because she is a girl. Until recently there were so few female chess players in tournaments that many questioned whether women could ever be as good as men.

鈥淲hy couldn鈥檛 a girl be just as good in chess as a boy?鈥� says Susan Polg谩r, a former top-tier player and women鈥檚 chess pioneer. 鈥淲hile it sounds obvious perhaps to most people today, it certainly was not then.鈥�

Twenty years ago, fewer than 1% of U.S. Chess Federation players were women, according to Ms. Polg谩r. Now that number is almost 14%. Jennifer Shahade, former champion player and program director for the USCF鈥檚 Women in Chess initiative, says the 13,000 girls and women currently competing in the USCF is the highest number ever.

Large obstacles remain in the way of equal pay and participation, and a fifty-fifty gender ratio may still be far off, Ms. Shahade says. But the numbers are clear: Women are on the rise in chess competitions.

Organizations like the USCF encourage girls to participate through tournaments that network female players at a young age. Having women succeed at the sport鈥檚 highest levels makes it easier for more to follow. In 1991, Ms. Polg谩r was one of the first women grandmasters. Today, more than three dozen women hold the title.

In addition, a larger share of female players boosts the overall quality of women鈥檚 chess, Ms. Polg谩r says. This was also the chief finding from a 2008 study published by the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal in London. It found that the perceived difference in performance between men and women chess players was a matter of statistics, not a biologically determined skill. The higher number of male players makes it more likely that men will disproportionately rank in the sport鈥檚 Top 100 list.

Debunking misogynist theories that men are genetically superior players promotes a more open culture, says Ms. Polg谩r. The sport鈥檚 gender imbalance was so strong that even Mr. Yip was skeptical when his daughter started playing. Wasn鈥檛 chess just for boys? Carissa鈥檚 success quickly changed his perceptions. Now he鈥檚 pushing for a similar shift in others鈥�.

鈥淭he reason that it didn鈥檛 happen in the past [doesn鈥檛] mean that it will not happen in the future,鈥� he says, referring to equal gender representation in the sport.

In a 1989 interview, chess legend Garry Kasparov commented that there were two kinds of chess: 鈥渞eal chess and women鈥檚 chess.鈥� In 2002, Mr. Kasparov lost to a woman 鈥� Judit Polg谩r, Susan鈥檚 sister. And in 2016, Carissa received instruction from Mr. Kasparov 鈥� now a supporter of women in chess 鈥� at a three-day camp for top young players in the U.S.

During the summer, Carissa says she spends almost six hours every day studying puzzles and tactics. Most of her games now last more than four hours. Developing the necessary patience has been difficult, especially for someone with a self-described 鈥渒iller instinct鈥� on the board. But for her, it鈥檚 worth it. She wants to be a grandmaster at the very least.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine my life without chess,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine my life before chess, too. ... It鈥檚 just a huge part of me.鈥�