They clearly didn't include my eldest in this study. We cannot explain why she is good at chess. She took some after-school chess classes when she was young (maybe K & 1st). While she never entered a tournament, I don't think she ever lost to any kids in elementary.
She isn't very interested in playing, but will play when asked. Last year, as a senior in HS, two kids who are clearly bright (both NMFs, one is definitely PG) asked her to play, and she won against both. While she uses certain opening moves, she has no idea what they are called, so she hasn't really had any coaching.
The article is interesting. Do you have any articles on what makes a good chess player? She is not interested in math and is relieved that she has fulfilled her college math requirement. She has always been good at games where "looking ahead" and anticipating an opponent's moves (several turns in advance) are critical to success. She routinely beat adults at Connect Four in the school after-care when she was 5.
I suspect the study agrees with some other studies I have read about males versus females in competitive environments. There was a good article in Games magazine on this a few years back. Females are just as good (and in some cases better) at games as males, but few possess the strong desire to win and desire to practice in order to be a winner.
My older two (all three are girls) are competitive and have gone above and beyond what others expected of them in their sports given their athletic abilities (average natural ability). I think that girls with a competitive nature probably don't underperform, but you can't really make someone have a competitive nature.
