Yosha Iglesias To Make History As 1st Trans Woman International Chess Master, Pending FIDE Approval
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Yosha Iglesias has etched her name in chess history as the first-ever trans player to fulfill all the requirements for the woman international master title. The title has not been conferred yet and is pending FIDE’s approval.
According to ‘Chess’, the French 36-year-old accomplished the milestone last week by securing her fourth norm at a closed international women’s tournament in Rouen, France. The event ran concurrently with the Rouen Open where GM Alireza Firouzja wrapped up his qualification for the Candidates.
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Iglesias claimed the second place in the tournament with an impressive 7 out of 9 points, falling half a point behind the winner WGM Anastasiya Rakhmangulova from Ukraine.
“I am exhausted, but so relieved and happy,” she told Chess.com. She also shared her emotions on her X/Twitter account.
Iglesias, a professional trans woman chess player and coach, underwent a transition process in 2021. In recent years, she has been a staunch advocate for women's and trans rights within the chess community.
“When I began my transition in early 2021, I was already an FM with a rating still above 2250. I naively thought that becoming a WIM would be more or less a formality, and that the hardest part was changing my gender both legally and at FIDE,” she told chess.com.
She faced challenges changing her gender, enduring an 18-month process to update her ID.
“At that point, my rating had dropped to 2200. Another year later, in May 2023, my rating was below 2200, I still had no norms, and I was already 35.”
Iglesias credits Annemarie Meier, a German trans chess pioneer, for motivating her to pursue the title. Meier’s own success as a trans woman, winning four national women’s championships, inspired Iglesias to train more rigorously.
“She convinced me that seeing a trans woman becoming a woman international master would mean the world to many trans players. She gave me the motivation to train more seriously than ever.”
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Gloriously Shuts Down Legislation Targeting Trans Women In Sports
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