“This is extremely sad” - GothamChess and community reacts as Divya Deshmukh opens up about misogyny in the Chess sphere

Divya Deshmukh, also known as DivyaChess in the online community, is an 18-year-old International Master (IM). She has recently shed light on the prevalent inequality experienced by women in the chess industry. Deshmukh recently competed in the Tata Steel Challengers section and shared her experience of significant neglect and discrimination on her Instagram platform.

The post was later captured and shared by popular chess creator and Twitch streamer Levy "GothamChess," who captioned the post stating:

Despite being open to everyone regardless of gender, chess remains predominantly male-dominated. Divya Deshmukh, the young Indian International Master, has highlighted the additional challenges women often encounter in chess. She wrote:

The streamer specifically referred to a couple of interviews she did during the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. She further wrote in her post:

She added:

GothamChess sharing the post meant that Divya Deshmukh's petition received a lot of reactions, with some individuals even highlighting the misogynistic comments left in the interview:

Here are some more reactions made on the X post:

Some fans also pointed out that despite a new format, the upcoming Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge event had no female participants. For those unaware, the tournament will follow a Fischer Random setup.