Max GuthierMar 12, 2023

Alright, let's talk about the elephant in the room within the world of #chess. Alejandro Ramirez who until very recently has been considered an integral part of the US elite chess community is now the subject of multiple reports of sexual assault (once the number of independent claims against him reaches double digits, the word 'allegiations' becomes hollow).

Anyone who is active in chess and proclaims to care about #inclusion and #feminism and safe spaces must take a stand here and it is not sufficient to say 'Well, *I* never assaulted anyone".

WSJ article attached, some further thoughts threaded.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/alejandro-ramirez-jennifer-shahade-chess-allegations-622263b8

How Sexual Assault Allegations Against a U.S. Chess Grandmaster Went Unaddressed for Years

Numerous women have accused elite player and coach Alejandro Ramirez of misconduct. Two bodies that run chess in the U.S. allegedly knew of accusations for several years.

The Wall Street Journal
Show threadMax GuthierMar 12, 2023
The first few reactions I read went along the tune of 'Well, that's why there are so few women in #chess. Which is just as useless a conclusion as you would expect a snarky one-liner to be. Not only because sexual predators are a danger in many communities, including female-dominated ones (Larry Nassar, anyone?) but also because it actually lets off the chess community too easy. While we definitely must care a lot about how the case of Mr. Ramirez's actions are resolved, physical safety is by far not the only issue that must be addressed to make the chess comunity actually welcoming for women. A good starter on the topic is this very painful and very important summary of the multifaceted #misogyny pervading the chess community: https://lichess.org/blog/X9i1gRUAAJzOKpd0/invisible-pieces-women-in-chess
Invisible Pieces: Women in Chess

lichess.org
Show threadMax Guthier
At some point, though, the focus can not anymore remain on the affected #women in #chess telling their side of the story. The burden of addressing the various egregious issues in the community - ranging from subtle bias in langauge over verbal abuse up to (as it turns out) physical safety - must be taken on by those in privilege and power. The vast majority of chess players are not about to assault anyone - but a lot of us are contibuting to the subtler cues that make the environment less-than-friendly. One good (read: sad) example from just last year, as reported on the birdsite: https://twitter.com/NoahChasin/status/1495980042668675073
Tweet / Twitter

Twitter
Mar 12, 2023 at 9:31pmWeb
Show threadMax GuthierMar 12, 2023

Many eyes and ears were on the employers of the (alleged...) perpetrator. Statements by the federation and the #SLCC were extremely disappointing exercises in self-exculpation that just showed how little support they offered to anyone who tried to flag instances of misconduct or assault. More interesting and helpful was the very recent C-Squared Podcast with Fabiano Caruana who as the most prominent associate of Mr. Ramirez in the last few years is very close to the situation and actually gives some insights in the environment.

While the openness in that regard is highly appreicated, I do think that the statement still falls way short in terms of introspection what the individual players are doing/not doing. Not everyone is a #predator but certainly a lot of us are part of the 'jungle' in which a predator can hide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyApdm6a0BE

Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Alejandro Ramirez | C-Squared #025

YouTube
Show threadMax GuthierMar 12, 2023

What it means in concrete terms is that we must rethink which degree of behavior we accept as sketchy-but-still-allowable. I found it striking that several (established, male) #chess players knew their colleague to be a 'Womanizer' or 'Playboy' but notbody thought that to be a red flag. Most definitely we must have a higher standard for a family-friendly environment.

The other part, of course, is the scarcity of resources for women who feel at odds with the 'old boys club' of a community. Without feedback from someone like themselves, many young women end up thinking they are the odd one out - when it is actually a male aggressor that would have needed to be called out.

What we need are more spaces for women in chess to share and validate each others experiences. The 'old boys' like, well me, need to not insert ourselves in these and - as mentioned - drastically adress our threshold of what needs to be called out as an unwelcoming environment.