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Trans teens history-making chess win in Germany triggers pathetic anti-trans backlash
In the hushed halls of competitive chess, where the clash of queens and bishops usually eclipses cultural warfare, a teenage girl has found herself at the center of Germanys latest front in the debate over transgender womens inclusion in sports.Nora Heidemann, 17, a trans girl from North Rhine-Westphalia, made history this month by winning Germanys under-18 girls chess championship, scoring 7.5 out of nine points and outperforming 27 rivals. Her victory, reported by Apollo News, a German political news outlet, and later detailed in The Times of London, has triggered a fierce conversation over who belongs in womens competitionseven in pursuits where brainpower, not brawn, rules the day.Heidemanns path to the championship was anything but typical. She competed in the open U18 division at her state-level event but failed to qualify directly, according to Apollo News. Her legal gender change was finalized only after the deadline for girls registration had passed. Ultimately, she secured one of five discretionary free places, awarded based on performance ratings, not gender identity, the outlet reports.Still, her win has fueled skepticism from some quarters of the German chess community. Nadja Jussupow, head of the German Commission for Womens Chess and a former champion, stated that more trans women have been entering womens tournaments since Germanys Self-Determination Act took effect in 2021. They havent undergone any treatment or anythingthey merely declared themselves to be women, Jussupow said. The Times reports that she claimed some cisgender women players were considering quitting, fearing unfair competition.Jussupow suggested a one-year waiting period for newly declared trans women before competing in womens categories, a proposal that reportedly found support among some womens chess referees.The German Chess Federation has rejected any ban, citing Germanys new legal protections and stressing that chess is diverse and inclusive. Federation president Ingrid Lauterbach condemned the discriminatory backlash Heidemann has faced on social media, saying, Were an inclusive sport and want to be so.Internationally, the World Chess Federation imposed a temporary ban in 2023, preventing trans women from womens tournaments pending further reviewa rule Germany opposes, pointing out that a trans woman had already claimed a national womens title in the early 2000s, Apollo News reports.
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