I still think that most girls are less competitive than boys. They just don't care about winning as much as the boys do. If my eldest ever got into actual chess competition, she probably wouldn't do so well - and I think it does have to do with gender.
For example, about five years ago we were at a State Little League Softball Tournament (division for girls 13-16). (Let's just ignore the fact that Little League is a joke.) There was a Little League Baseball State Tournament at the same complex. All of the kids looked pretty competitive while they were playing. These were the eight top teams in the state. However, what did the players do after the game? The girls wanted to go see the local mall, asked where we were going to eat dinner, got out the phones and started texting. The boys played catch, went to the batting cages, etc.
I'm not saying my girls don't practice to keep up with the competition. There are some days that they practice their sport(s) for four hours. But if they didn't have organized practices, there is no way they would practice that much. Most girls seem to put emphasis on being social and doing a variety of things rather than being really intense in one area.
Look at competitions like Mathcounts - I don't think a girl has ever won at Nationals. Look at the 2013 USAMO winners - not a girl among them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maaorg/8977795239/in/photostream/This has nothing to do with the potential of girls - there are girls who are capable of winning these competitions - but I think that most lack the intense focus and desire.
Of course, that isn't all bad - the girls may be more well-rounded and can operate well in social situations, which sometimes proves to be more important in the long run.
And I'm a little confused about the original article - if the girl came into the tournament with a higher rating than a boy, what gender chess players did she play in the previous tournament? If girls consistently underperform against boys, then wouldn't their rating slip and begin to reflect that and their future performances would be less and less of an underperformance?
