A woman grand master and chess champion filed a complaint in New Jersey state court this week against U.S. Chess and other leaders, claiming the organization tolerates sexual misconduct and punishes whistleblowers who warn of such abuses.
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Jennifer Shahade, a two-time national women’s chess champion and women chess grand master, filed the six-count complaint in the Monmouth County Superior Court, bringing claims of employer retaliation, sex discrimination, defamation and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act violations. She claims that the organization painted her in a false light in a public relations campaign after she spoke out about allegedly being assaulted by Alejandro Ramirez, a chess grand master.
Shahade worked for U.S. Chess as an officer and director of women’s programs from 2006 until her constructive discharge in September 2023. She claims the discharge resulted after she publicly identified Ramirez in a February 2023 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the alleged physical and sexual assault, among other allegations, the complaint said.
Despite multiple warnings and an offer to provide the organization’s leader with a detailed timeline of the allegations, she claims she received a “critical letter from US Chess counsel (about my tweet),” the complaint said.
In a May 2023 statement published on its website, U.S. Chess acknowledged two formal complaints against Ramirez and said a third-party, independent investigation concluded the response from U.S. Chess was “timely and appropriate regarding the reports it received about Ramirez’s conduct.” The organization’s executive board ratified Ramirez’s resignation and also banned him from being a U.S. Chess member, the statement said.
After she was discharged, Shahade claims the organization spearheaded a media campaign to discredit her allegations, which included the organization revealing details of her confidential sexual assault complaint and engaging in victim shaming. Her complaint also alleged that U.S. Chess President Randy Bauer, also named as a defendant in the complaint, threatened to dox her on social media, the complaint said.
Another defendant, Peter Tamburro, the senior editor and co-founder of The American Chess Magazine, is accused of publishing an article including false and defamatory statements about her, damaging her reputation.
“Shahade has been retaliated against with continued campaigns including one inseminated from New Jersey to gender attack her and discriminate against her both in New Jersey and nationwide, forcing her first to lose her livelihood by being constructively discharged first in her position at US Chess, and then damaging her credibility and reputation in order that the public would spit upon and disbelieve her allegations,” the complaint said.
She alleges that U.S. Chess not only failed to protect her, but also her children, claiming there were “numerous sexual abusers that U.S. Chess allowed to be in the arena to traffic child chess players,” the complaint said.
Furthermore, Shahade took issue with the organization’s “sham investigation,” led by its then-interim executive director, identified as a former lawyer for a Fortune 500 company.
“When Defendant US Chess thought it had beaten Shahade into submission, it then attempted to rush her into a sham mediation by having its then-Interim Executive Director, a former lawyer for a Fortune 500 company, send Shahade to mediation without an attorney, with a jurist it handpicked and set up dates to have such sham mediation, in its own backyard, Missouri, in order to silence her (upon information also hoodwinking the proposed jurist by failing to reveal the full story),” the complaint said. “When Shahade finally obtained legal counsel, Defendants failed to honor its offer to mediate because it never had any intention of having a real mediation to make Shahade whole but instead attempted to further victimize her to get her to sign a non disparagement agreement and an NDA without real compensation for her claims against US Chess.”
Attempts to contact Tamburro for comment were unsuccessful, and Bauer did not return a request for comment.
Linda Kenney Baden, of counsel to Krenkel & Krenkel in Allenhurst and lead attorney for the case, is joined by David A. Krenkel and Tamara Holder, of the Law Firm of Tamara Holder in Chicago, in representing Shahade. Baden did not return a request for comment, but she posted a new release on X Wednesday that included a statement from the client.
“As a victim and whistleblower, I am fighting back against campaigns to silence me and retaliate against me for speaking up about sexual violence in chess,” Shahade said in the statement. “It’s been my lifelong mission for women and girls to thrive in this game. I have fought many battles on the chess board and the poker table but this fight for a better chess world is the most important one.”
Shahade is asking the court for a declaratory judgment and a permanent restraining order against the defendants for their continued illegal actions. She is also seeking damages and equitable relief mandating the defendants implement an effective antiharassment policy.
A spokesperson for U.S. Chess said the organization does not publicly comment on ongoing litigation but also said, “We will defend ourselves vigorously.”
Counsel has yet to appear for the defendants.
