Poker and Chess Star Accuses Chess Grandmaster Of Sexual Assault

Summary

• Poker pro Shahade alleged that Ramirez sexually assaulted her twice, 9 and 10 years ago
• Ramirez is currently being investigated for sexual assault; some of the incidents involved minors
• US Chess Foundation launched investigation into Ramirez

Jennifer Shahade is a prominent figure in US poker and worldwide. She is currently part of team PokerStars Pro and also serves as an ambassador for the women-focused poker organization Poker Power.

Apart from being a successful poker pro, Shahade is also an accomplished chess player. She was the first female winner of the U.S. Junior Open and is also a two-time U.S. Women’s Chess champion.

But behind all her achievements was a traumatic past. Shahade recently revealed she was a victim of sexual misconduct and assault. And the alleged culprit was no other than chess Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez who is currently under investigation over similar allegations.

Playing Poker while Dealing with Trauma

Based on her Hendon Mob profile, Shahade’s first live poker tournament record came in 2007, three years after she won her second U.S. Women’s Chess Championship.

The 43-year-old now has over $460,000 in total live cash, and her biggest live tournament victory so far happened in 2014 when she took down the €10,000 TonyBet Open Face Chinese Pineapple High Roller Event at the Prague Poker Festival for $122,827. It was in the same year that she was sexually assaulted allegedly by Ramirez, for the second time. The first incident happened 10 years ago, according to Shahade.

Shahade said she had chosen to move on silently from those painful experiences until the past couple of years when several women approached her to share their own stories of abuse at the hands of Ramirez. The PokerStars ambassador and board member of the World Chess Hall of Fame said some of the victims were minors and there’s evidence to prove it.

Shahade exposed Ramirez in a lengthy post on Twitter on February 15. Two days later, the poker pro and women’s chess champ said more women have since reached out to her to say they’ve also been sexually assaulted by Ramirez.

An Open Secret

Ramirez’s misconduct seems to be an open secret in the chess community, with some claiming they have known about it as early as 2010. One commenter said the Costa Rican American chess Grandmaster was “grabbing underage girls” and messaging them at chess camps.

Jennifer’s brother Greg Shahade also said he already informed authorities about it a long time ago but the allegations are only being investigated now.

The St Louis Chess Club and the US Chess Foundation have launched separate inquiries into the matter and Ramirez said he is fully cooperating with both investigations.