--- description: Organizers are investigating the incident, in which the 12-year-old tournament participant was allegedly told that her dress was "seductive" title: Young Chess Player Stopped Mid-Tournament Over Her Dress image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b374dea380f0e31/6988cb90cd1bbaf6fe705041/gettyimages-537681711.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Malaysia](/tag/malaysia/) ## Malaysia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Young Girl Had to Leave a Chess Tournament Because Her Dress Was 'Seductive' by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 2, 2017 4:56 AM CUT  Chess game with close-up of chess pieces with knights facing off. Chess game with close-up of chess pieces with knights facing off.Jim Corwin—Getty Images by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 2, 2017 4:56 AM CUT A 12-year-old Malaysian chess player’s withdrawal from a national tournament last month over “inappropriate” attire [has sparked backlash](http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/appeals-panel-to-probe-chess-girls-pullout-tournament-organiser-says "undefined") and calls for an investigation. According to the player’s mother, the chief arbiter of the National Scholastic Chess Championships 2017 interrupted her daughter’s second-round game to call out her knee-length dress as “inappropriate” and “seductive,” reports _Malay Mail Online_. She further stated that her daughter had no choice but to withdraw, as the late-night interruption meant she could not secure new clothing for the following day’s games, scheduled to start at 9 a.m. In a Facebook [post](https://www.facebook.com/kaushal.khandhar/posts/10154911101336281 "undefined") detailing the incident, the player’s coach said that the tournament director called the dress worn by his student, a regional champion in Kuala Lumpur, a “temptation from a certain angle far, far away,” and demanded a public apology from the organizers. At least one politician in the country has stepped in to call for an explanation of the situation, [reports](http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/05/01/zuraida-organiser-should-clarify-what-happened-at-chess-tournament/#XuSwu0jwSbLKuA1j.99 "undefined") _The Star Online_. “I feel for the young girl as if she were my own daughter,” lawmaker Zuraida Kamaruddin said, suggesting that the matter should’ve been more humanely resolved. The tournament’s organizers said an appeals committee will look into the alleged incident. \[[_Mail Online_](http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/appeals-panel-to-probe-chess-girls-pullout-tournament-organiser-says "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4762760/malaysia-chess-player-seductive-dress/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4762760/malaysia-chess-player-seductive-dress/"},"headline":"A Young Girl Had to Leave a Chess Tournament Because Her Dress Was 'Seductive'","datePublished":"2017-05-02T04:56:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:41:54.829Z","description":"Her coach is demanding a public apology from the organizers","url":"https://time.com/4762760/malaysia-chess-player-seductive-dress/","keywords":["Malaysia","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b374dea380f0e31/6988cb90cd1bbaf6fe705041/gettyimages-537681711.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b374dea380f0e31/6988cb90cd1bbaf6fe705041/gettyimages-537681711.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chess game","caption":"Chess game","creditText":"Jim Corwin—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/malaysia/","name":"Malaysia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4762760/malaysia-chess-player-seductive-dress/","name":"A Young Girl Had to Leave a Chess Tournament Because Her Dress Was 'Seductive'"}}]}] ```