WSJ: Chess Platforms Halt Relationships With Saint Louis Chess Club

Chess.com and Lichess will halt their relationships with St. Louis Chess Club and no longer provide support for or cover any of their tournaments in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct, The Wall Street Journal revealed on Wednesday.

In an exclusive story, the influential newspaper reveals how the two biggest chess servers no longer will broadcast, provide news coverage of or support tournaments hosted by Saint Louis Chess Club. This will affect prestigious events such as the Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, and Chess9LX, which are scheduled for this fall.

“Chess.com will not be providing support for, or coverage of, any St. Louis Chess Club events for the foreseeable future,” Chess.com's Chief Chess Officer Danny Rensch told The Wall Street Journal. “We are disappointed by how the leadership at the US Chess Federation has handled this entire situation and hope to see improvements in transparency and action.”

The move comes in the wake of a wider MeToo reckoning which started in March with two-time U.S. Women's Champion WGM Jennifer Shahade who, in a series of tweets, alleged that GM Alejandro Ramirez assaulted her twice. Shahade later said that she has been approached by 10 other women from the chess community who had also been assaulted by Ramirez.

Just days later, the Costa-Rican-born US grandmaster resigned from his position as a regular commentator and coach at the club after The Journal revealed how he had become "physically aggressive as he forcibly kissed and groped them without their consent." Three of them were under the age of 18, according to the newspaper.

Lichess last week in a post on its website said it no longer will cooperate with both the Saint Louis Chess Club and the US Chess Federation “due to serious concerns about their lack of accountability.” According to the site, both bodies failed to take action and provide a safe and supportive enviroment for women and girls

The site also detailed alleged sexual misconduct by GM Timur Gareyev, the Uzbek-born US grandmaster known for giving large blindfold simuls around the world, saying it has documents that show he has faced several sexual misconduct complaints since 2019.

Chess.com reported that Gareyev is suspended from playing in U.S. events for two years while his membership in the US Chess Federation is suspended for one year. According to Lichess, the chess body did not properly deal with three formal complaints against the grandmaster and only acted three months after the first complaint was rejected.

Shahade's and others' allegations about Ramirez were reported to the US Chess Federation and the Saint Louis Chess Club, but went unaddressed for years, according to The Journal. Both bodies did not immediately take action or effectively investigate when first learning of allegations, including one case of abuse of a 15-year-old, the newspaper reported.

More than 100 women players have signed a letter that says that sexual violence and harassment towards women are the primary reason why many of them stop playing chess. The open letter, initiated by some of France's top women players, later led former England international WIM Sabrina Chevannes to come out with her own harrowing experiences in the chess world.

"It's the reason I stopped playing chess. It's completely prevalent, it's something that has been sat on and suppressed on for many years. I guess they don't want to ruin the image that chess is a gentleman's game." 

The Saint Louis Chess Club did not respond to WSJ's request for comment.