Two-time U.S. Girls’s Chess Champion WGM Jennifer Shahade has filed a serious lawsuit towards US Chess, its president Randy Bauer, and chess author Peter Tamburro, alleging defamation, retaliation, and discrimination after her public allegations of sexual misconduct.
The six-count grievance, filed within the New Jersey Superior Court docket, alleges critical misconduct inside US Chess. Shahade’s claims embody defamation, discrimination, retaliatory actions, the unfold of false data, and invasion of privateness.
I’m combating again towards campaigns to silence me and retaliate towards me for talking up about sexual violence in chess.
I’ve fought many battles on the chess board and the poker desk. That is crucial one. pic.twitter.com/0ZiNOPI9N5
— Jennifer Shahade (@JenShahade) July 17, 2024
I’ve fought many battles on the chess board and the poker desk however this struggle for a greater chess world is crucial one.
—WGM Jennifer Shahade
Background
The 43-year-old girl grandmaster is an outspoken two-time U.S. Girls’s Chess Champion, commentator, chess creator, {and professional} poker participant. In early 2023, she despatched shockwaves by way of the chess world by alleging that GM Alejandro Ramirez sexually assaulted her twice. The grandmaster resigned from his function as a prolific commentator and coach on the Saint Louis Chess Membership following a bombshell report by The Wall Road Journal, the place eight ladies alleged abuse by Ramirez. He’s now completely suspended by US Chess.
Shahade’s tweets ignited a MeToo motion inside the chess group, prompting a number of ladies to share tales of abuse. Amongst them is WIM Sabrina Chevannes, who stated it brought on her to give up taking part in chess professionally. One other is Ellen Carlsen, sister of the previous world champion, who reported a case of harassment after Shahade’s tweets.
Later, greater than 100 ladies signed an open letter titled We Have Remained Silent For Too Lengthy denouncing sexist conduct and sexual violence. Considered one of them was FM Yosha Iglesias, an expert trans girl chess participant and coach who detailed a number of situations of sexual harassment.
Time’s up. pic.twitter.com/ItOv73lTX7
— Jennifer Shahade (@JenShahade) February 15, 2023
Failure To Act, Negligence, And Retaliation
Shahade’s lawsuit claims that US Chess’s failure to behave on her experiences of significant misconduct in 2011 and 2014 allowed Ramirez to proceed in positions of affect and entry younger gamers, together with minors. She argues that this failure is emblematic of US Chess’s broader negligence in dealing with sexual misconduct allegations.
In September, Shahade resigned from her place as Director of the US Chess Girls’s Program, citing she was greeted with “hostility as a substitute of assist” and was “persistently minimized or ignored” after coming ahead with the allegations.
Her lawsuit alleges that US Chess President Randy Bauer didn’t take correct motion within the case. Based on the grievance, Bauer not solely didn’t act on the warnings but in addition actively participated in efforts to retaliate towards Shahade by releasing confidential details about her complaints and people of different victims.
This retaliation for making complaints about sexual assault, gender discrimination, hostile work surroundings, inaction to right intercourse assault, intercourse victimization, gender bias, and the like, additional fueled a conspiracy to assault her and her repute was one which tried to humiliate her publicly by releasing confidential particulars of her complaints and the complaints of different victims.
The grievance then factors to a Fb remark by Bauer:
Chess.com beforehand coated how Bauer confronted requires his resignation after feedback made on social media concerning the case.
‘Derogatory And Factually False Article’
One other vital ingredient of the lawsuit is Shahade’s declare that US Chess conspired to retaliate towards her by endorsing 2023 Chess Journalist Of America Pete Tamburro’s article Due Course of Half II, printed within the February 2024 subject of the American Chess Journal.
US Chess printed an announcement, saying: “We’re grateful to Mr. Tamburro for having requested the laborious questions, realized the details, and set the document straight.”
Nevertheless, Shahade argues that Tamburro’s article is “derogatory and factually false,” which exhibited discriminatory cognitive biases towards her as a feminine whistleblower.
Tamburro’s article, totally adopted by US Chess, can be stuffed with, on the very least, discriminatory Cognitive Bias, particularly implicit bias or implicit stereotype bias towards a feminine survivor whistleblower, making this publication discriminatory primarily based on gender, and/or retaliatory primarily based on gender and/or partly or in full motivated by discriminatory intent or motivated to retaliate towards a feminine whistleblower.
She contends that this text was a part of a broader effort by US Chess to silence her and discredit her public disclosures about Ramirez and different situations of misconduct inside the group.
The alleged unbiased investigatory article by Tamburro was deliberately false particularly the place it downplayed Shahade complaints about little one intercourse victims.
Shahade highlighted a number of “intentional errors and reckless errors” within the article. She additionally claims that US Chess officers leaked Shahade’s confidential sufferer experiences to Tamburro to make use of for retaliation.
Shahade Seeks Damages And Reforms, Insurance coverage Firm Additionally Sues
Represented by the workplace of high-profile legal professional Linda Kenney Baden, Shahade is asking the court docket for a declaratory judgment and a everlasting restraining order towards the defendants. She seeks compensatory and punitive damages, with the quantity to be decided at trial. As well as, she is asking for US Chess to implement stricter insurance policies and procedures for dealing with sexual misconduct.
US Chess, together with Bauer, has additionally develop into the topic of a lawsuit by their insurance coverage firm, West Bend, which is in search of a declaratory judgment that it doesn’t have the responsibility to cowl the prices of the case towards Shahade.
In a short remark supplied to Chess.com, US Chess stated it could not touch upon the case but in addition denied the allegations. “We’ll defend ourselves vigorously,” a spokesperson stated.
Peter Tamburro and Randy Bauer didn’t reply to Chess.com’s request to touch upon this story.
