👑 Da Struggle of Being a Woman in Chess: Streamer Anna Cramling shares her #MeToo moment 🤐🙅♀️
Da world of chess stay facing its own #MeToo moment afta several wāhine wen come out wit some disturbing stories about dey experience in da game, including claims of sexual misconduct by one grandmaster. Anna Cramling, one popular chess streamer, wen come out saying she too had some uncomfortable encounters in da game.
Da 20-year-old Anna, who get neally 400,000 YouTube subscribers, wen say being a wāhine in chess sometimes make she feel lonely and uneasy during tournaments. 😞 She wen explain dat from wen she was small, adult men wen compliment her at chess tournaments and she wen receive direct messages from her opponents dat wen make she feel very uncomfortable. 💬
As da daughter of two grandmasters, chess stay one important part of Anna’s life. She wen grow up traveling wit her parents all ova da world fo play in tournaments and wen decide fo develop her own skills. She wen start taking chess more seriously wen her family wen move to Sweden, studying da game fo up to two hours every day. ⏰
Even wit all dis, Anna still had to face some uncomfortable situations. She wen recall one moment when she was 15 years old and an arbiter wen tell her dat she was distracting all da male players wit her outfit. She felt embarrassed and guilty, and couldn’t even concentrate on her own game afta dat. 😩
One main issue Anna wen point out is dat there are much more guys playing chess den wāhine, and being one wāhine at a chess tournament can sometimes make you feel lonely. She say dat she has played in tournaments wit ova 300 participants, but only five of dem wen be wāhine. 🏆
Anna wen still have one obvious passion fo da game, and dat shows on her online platforms. Despite da harsh truths da game stay facing, she stay one strong and inspiring wāhine in chess. 🔥
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👩🦱 Being a Woman in Chess Can Feel ‘Lonely’ 😔, Says Streamer Anna Cramling 🧐, as the Game Grapples with Harsh Truths 💔
With multiple women coming forward about their disturbing experiences in the chess world, including accusations of sexual misconduct by a grandmaster, the historic game is having its own #MeToo moment.
Popular online chess streamer Anna Cramling says she’s also had uncomfortable experiences during her career in the game.
The 20-year-old, who boasts almost 400,000 subscribers on YouTube, says being a woman in chess has sometimes led to unwanted comments by men that left her feeling uncomfortable and lonely during tournaments. 😞
“I’ve had weird experiences in the chess world ever since I was a kid,” Cramling told CNN Sport. 🗣️
“From adult men complimenting me at chess tournaments, to receiving DMs from my chess opponents saying things such as ‘I couldn’t stop looking at you’ during our chess game.
“This made me feel very uncomfortable, as a chess game typically takes four or five hours, so it felt weird knowing that someone so much older than me had been thinking about me in that way for so many hours.” 😞
As the daughter of two grandmasters – her mother, Pia, was the fifth-ever female grandmaster and her father, Juan Manuel Bellón López, a five-time Spanish champion – chess has always played an important role in Cramling’s life. ♟️
Born in Spain, Cramling said she spent a lot of time traveling with her parents to tournaments around the world and eventually decided to develop her own skills.
She says she started taking chess more seriously after moving to Sweden with her family, studying the game for up to two hours every day. ⏰
“Even if I didn’t study every day, I constantly heard about chess, I constantly saw my parents analyzing their chess games, talking about chess,” she said.
According to Chess.com, Cramling reached a peak International Chess Federation (FIDE) rating of 2175 in 2018 which qualifies her as a Woman FIDE Master – the third-highest ranking for women, behind the woman grandmaster and the woman international master.
Since 2020, however, Cramling says her focus has been more on building her social media platforms. 📱
‘Embarrassed and Guilty’ 😩
Cramling recalls the moment when an arbiter questioned her outfit during a youth tournament that she was part of when she was 15.
It was summer, she said, so like many she was wearing shorts, and had gone over to speak to some friends she knew competing in the men’s tournament.
She said a tournament official approached her and told her she was “distracting all the male players.”
“I remember going back to the women’s section of the tournament and feeling so embarrassed and guilty that I couldn’t concentrate throughout my whole game – I just wanted to leave,” she said.
“One of the main issues has been that there are so many more guys than girls that play chess, and being a woman at a chess tournament can sometimes feel lonely.
“I have sometimes played in tournaments with over 300 participants, where only five have been women.
“I think that one of the reasons so few women compete is because the environment in chess tournaments can be very hostile to them, and I know that many, many women have stories like mine, or worse.” 😔
Despite these incidents, Cramling still has an obvious passion for the game that is visible on her online platforms. 🔥