Jennifer Shahade: ‘There’s a long and embedded history of abuse in chess’

Interview Jennifer Shahade: ‘There’s a long and embedded history of abuse in chess’ Donald McRae The former US women’s champion changed her life and her sport when she made allegations against a grandmaster. Now she’s turned her hand to writing and poker O n 15 February 2023, Jennifer Shahade took a deep breath and wrote “Time’s up” above a long message about allegations of sexual abuse in the cloistered world of professional chess. Shahade knew her words would have an impact but she didn’t expect the social media post to go viral and change her life. A two-time US women’s chess champion, Shahade chose her words carefully as she made serious allegations against Alejandro Ramirez, a then 34-year-old grandmaster from Costa Rica who was based in America and coached the St Louis University chess team: “Currently there are multiple investigations Alejandro Ramirez and sexual misconduct, including a series of alleged incidents involving a minor. I was assaulted by him twice, nine and 10 years ago. I’d moved on until the past couple of years when multiple women, independent of each other, and with no knowledge of my own experience, approached me with their own stories of alleged abuse. These accounts were from much younger alleged victims.” Ramirez, who also worked alongside Shahade as a chess commentator, issued his own statement in response : “Although I cannot comment on the specifics of Ms Shahade’s assertions due to pending investigations by the US Chess Federation and the St Louis Chess Club, I understand the concern raised by the allegations. I am fully cooperating with both inquiries and look forward to the opportunity to respond to these charges and share my side of the story.” Shadade tells me that eight women then contacted her to share their own allegations of distressing experiences with Ramirez. She adds: “If you count the women who talked to me about other men the number is much, much higher. Some men reached out to me as well.” To talk about sexual abuse? “...