A.C. in Brooklyn, New York, writes:
I recently played a game of chess against a woman in my chess club, and she defeated me in front of many of her girlfriends. As you probably know, the object of the game is to trap the opponent’s king so that it cannot escape–this is known as “checkmating” the king or simply “mating” the king. As my opponent was closing in on my king, I started to feel very embarrassed. I was in a helpless position. Then she did it—she moved her queen up against my king, executing the “mating.” I was blushing in embarrassment when she declared, “Checkmate,” and I conceded defeat in front of her cheering friends. One of her friends said, “Her female piece, her queen, executed the mating…Oh, yes!” Again, I felt very embarrassed. I also felt as if all women had defeated me. Do you have any thoughts about this?
Marilyn responds:
Given this situation–especially when you blushed–I think the women behaved like really poor sports. Do the male chess players ever crow with victory when a man beats a woman? Probably not.
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