Transgender women were barred from competing in the world’s top chess federation’s official events for females until an assessment of gender change is made by the organization’s officials.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) said the organization and its member federations received recognition requests from players who identify as transgender. The participation of transgender women would depend on an analysis of individual cases that might take up to two years.
“Change of gender is a change that has a significant impact on a player’s status and future eligibility to tournaments, therefore it can only be made if there is a relevant proof of the change provided,” FIDE said.
“In the event that the gender was changed from a male to a female the player has no right to participate in official FIDE events for women until further FIDE’s decision is mad.”
The federation said the holders of women’s titles who change their genders to male would see those titles “abolished.” The organization floated the possibility of a reinstatement “if the person changes the gender back to woman.”
“If a player has changed the gender from a man into a woman, all the previous titles remain eligible,” the federation said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
