Playing Strength and Gender
Table of contents |
Observations
- There are over 100 male 9 dan players in Japan as of August 2010. There are additional male 9 dan players in China and Korea.
- There are four female 9 dan players, Rui Naiwei, Feng Yun, Park Jieun, and Cho Hye-yeon as of December 2010 in China, Japan and Korea.
- One open professional title has been won by a female player (Kuksu by Rui Naiwei in 2000) as of August 2010.
- There are fewer female players.
- Women, as a group, have less disposable time and income.
- Female gender roles are less favorable to competitive activities than male gender roles.
- Women's participation rates in online activities, while increasing, is still lower than male participation rates. (Playing online being one of the main ways the game is played beginning in the 1990's(?).)
Assumptions
- The male:female win/loss ratio should match the win/loss ratio of all professional players - only if the ratio of female professionals to all female players equals the ratio of male professionals to all male players.
- The male:female ratio of players at each professional rank should match the male:female ratio of professional players - only if the ratio of female professionals to all female players equals the ratio of male professionals to all male players.
- The male:female ratio of titleholders should match the male:female ratio of professional players - only if the ratio of female professionals to all female players equals the ratio of male professionals to all male players.
Limitations
- It would be preferable to have data for the entire go playing population. However such data are difficult to obtain. Only a self selected portion of general go playing population chooses to join clubs or national associations. Among the data sets that are readiably available are: professional results, European Go Database and AGA Go Database.
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Statistical correlation is not causality, we must distinguish between attributable to and attributed to or caused by.
- Statistics obtained from a self selected population may not reflect the statistics of the general population.
- Professionals are neither a self-selected nor a randomly selected part of the population, but supposed to be the strongest players. The relation between the ratio male professionals:male players and the ratio female professionals:female players is not known, therefore it is impossible to say whether it is sound to compare female professionals with male professionals to measure the overall performance by gender.
Question
Conclusion
Research Books and Articles
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Comparing Extreme Members is a Low-Power Method of Comparing Groups: An Example Using Sex Differences in Chess Performance Chabris, C.F., & Glickman, M.E (2010)
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Why are (the best) women so good at chess? Participation rates and gender differences in intellectual domains Bilalic, M., Smallbone, K., McLeod, P., & Gobet, F. (2009)
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Sex Differences in Intellectual Performance Chabris, C.F., & Glickman, M.E (2006)
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Does Chess Need Intelligence? : A Study with Young Chess Players Bilalic, M., McLeod, P., & Gobet, F. (2006)
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Using chess ratings as data in psychological research Glickman, M.E & Chabris, C.F. (2006)
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Statistical literacy: Thinking critically about statistics
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Participation rates and maximal performance: A log-linear explanation for group differences, such as Russian and male dominance in chess Charness, N. & Gerchak, Y. (1996)
- "The Mother/Daughter Relationship as a Resource for Korean Women’s Career Aspirations" by Hyunjoo Song (ISSN:0360-0025, Journal: Sex Roles, Vol 44, No:1/2 pages:79-97).
- "Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: Understanding People in Context" by Uichol Kim, Kuo-Shu Yang and Kwang-Kuo Hwang ISBN:978-0-387-28661-7, especially chapter 19