IQ, visuospatial ability and the gender divide: a reply to Bilalić and Mcleod.

Bilalic and McLeod's arguments fall short on several grounds. There are excellent logical reasons to expect strong ability/chess expertise links and specific research evidence to date is sparse, with mixed findings. Data are presented from Georgia, which has a high female participation rate in chess, which suggest that differing gender motivation levels and participation rates impact relatively little on chess performance differences at the extreme.