Chess Girls Don’t Cry: Male players are substantially quicker to quit when dominated by a female than by a male; in contrast, female players’ behaviour differs little as a function of the gender of the opponent

Chess Girls Don’t Cry: Gender Composition of Games and Effort in Competitions among the Super-Elite. Maryam Dilmaghani. Journal of Economic Psychology, January 8 2022, 102482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2022.102482

Highlights

• Using a sample of super-elite chess games, the paper examines whether the gender composition of games affects effort level.

• Male players are substantially quicker to quit when dominated by a female than by a male.

• In contrast, female players’ behaviour differs little as a function of the gender of the opponent.

Abstract: The deterministic nature of chess makes the outcome strongly predictable, especially among the elite. As a result, instead of ending in a checkmate or a forced tie, elite chess games end either in the resignation of the player in a losing position or a mutually agreed upon draw. Traits such as competitiveness, over-confidence, and risk tolerance, all more prevalent among males, likely prolong the games. In contrast, susceptibility to intimidation and stereotype threat, more relevant to females, likely accelerate the completion of games. Using a recent sample of super-elite chess games, the present paper shows that males are substantially quicker to quit when dominated by a female than by a male. In contrast, female players’ behaviour differs little as a function of the gender of opponents. The results are interpreted through the “mere effort” impact of stereotype threat and the self-handicapping concept.

Keywords: GenderChessCompetitivenessEffortStereotype threatSelf-handicapping

JEL J16Z20