The Saint Louis Chess Club (previously, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis) is a chess club in the Central West End in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 2008 by billionaire Rex Sinquefeld as part of an effort to improve U.S. chess and turn St. Louis into an international chess center.[1] The club's building sits across the street from the World Chess Hall of Fame.
 | |
| Formation | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Type | Chess club |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) organization |
| Headquarters | 4657 Maryland Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°38′40″N 90°15′40″W / 38.6444°N 90.2611°W |
| Website | saintlouischessclub |
Formerly called | Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis |
The club hosts the annual Sinquefield Cup tournament, the only U.S. stop on the Grand Chess Tour. Founded at the club in 2013, it is one of the world's strongest tournaments as measured by its competitors' world rankings.
The club drew national attention in 2023 when officials were accused of concealing the alleged sexual assaults of a grandmaster employee.
History
editIn 2007, Rex Sinquefield, a billionaire and libertarian activist, founded the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.[2] It was the first major expenditure in his efforts to boost chess in Saint Louis and the United States; by 2018, he would spend an estimated $50 million on chess-related philanthropy.[3]
It was reopened on July 17, 2008,[4] as the St. Louis Chess Club, in facilities that had contained a tournament hall and a basement broadcast studio.[5]
Backed by Sinquefield's largess, the club quickly grew to prominence in the United States' chess community. In 2009, the club began hosting the annual U.S. Championships and U.S. Women's Championships. The following year, it added the annual Junior Closed Championship.
The success of the 2009–2010 U.S. Championships led the United States Chess Federation to name the STLCC the 2010 Chess Club of the Year. The USCF also recognized STLCC Executive Director Tony Rich as Organizer of the Year for both years.[6]
In August 2010, Sinquefield provided seed funding to move the World Chess Hall of Fame to St. Louis, citing the Chess Club's presence and reputation.[7]
In 2013, Sinquefield and the club launched the Sinquefield Cup, a super-GM tournament consisting of many of the world's strongest grandmasters. In 2014, the tournament was the strongest in history (by rating), with an average rating of 2802.
The STLCC holds yearly tournaments in chess960 that they trademark as Chess 9LX.[8][9]
On September 19, 2022, all Club operations temporarily moved to the adjacent space that housed the original incarnation of the chess-themed Kingside Diner. All tournaments in the interim are held at 308 N Euclid Ave, the old Kingside Diner space, the basement of The Chase Park Plaza Hotel, Il Monastero at Saint Louis University, or the World Chess Hall of Fame.
Allegations of sexual assaults
editIn 2020, club officials received allegations of sexual assaults by Alejandro Ramirez, a resident grandmaster who was the club's highest-paid employee for at least two years.[10] Officials said they launched no formal investigation but "stopped engaging Ramirez in any capacity where he would come into contact with minors".[11]
In 2022, two-time women's national champion Jennifer Shahade filed a formal complaint to the United States Chess Federation alleging that Ramirez had twice sexually assaulted her.[11] In February 2023, Shahade, frustrated by the responses of club and federation officials, posted her allegations to social media.[11] Within a month, seven more women came forward to accuse Ramirez of sexually assaulting them. In March 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported that club officials had known of allegations against Ramirez at least since 2015.[10][12] Ramirez resigned from the club.
In August 2023, Shahade sued the club and the U.S. federation, alleging that they had mishandled the allegations and tried to silence her. Officials denied the allegations.[11] Leading chess platforms Chess.com[13][14] and Lichess[15] announced that they would no longer support the St. Louis club nor cover its tournaments because of how the club had handled the allegations.[16][17]
Two months later, the club's board of directors released a statement in which they said the club "should have done more to address the allegations made by those who bravely came forward with information about his inexcusable behavior". They also said the club had hired a legal team led by Catherine Hanaway "to review all its guidelines, practices and procedures when it comes to ensuring the safety and security of everyone participating in chess".[18] After this statement, Chess.com resumed its support and coverage of the club's tournaments, while Lichess did not.[13]
Grandmaster-in-Residence
editThe STLCC has a Grandmaster-in-Residence who provides lectures, lessons and camps for the community.[19] The titled players who have held the position are (in order of first residency): Ben Finegold, Yasser Seirawan, Alejandro Ramírez, Varuzhan Akobian, Jennifer Shahade, Ronen Har-Zvi, Irina Krush, Joshua Friedel, Anna Sharevich, Robert Hungaski, Bryan Smith, Maurice Ashley, Aviv Friedman, Tatev Abrahamyan, Mac Molner, Eric Hansen, Vita Kryvoruchko, Kateřina Němcová, Robin van Kampen, Cristian Chirilă, Eric Rosen, Denes Boros, Elshan Moradiabadi, Sabina Foisor, Vitaly Neimer, Atanas Kolev, Yaroslav Zherebukh, Mauricio Flores Ríos, Jesse Kraai, Vladimir Georgiev, Pepe Cuenca, Aman Hambleton, Aleksandr Lenderman, Tiberiu Georgescu, Steven Zierk, Dorsa Derakhshani, Joel Benjamin, Dariusz Swiercz, Mircea Pârligras, Lázaro Bruzón, Yuniesky Quesada, Alex Yermolinsky, Alexander Shabalov, Romain Édouard, Thalia Cervantes, Illia Nyzhnyk, Evgenij Miroshnichenko, Cemil Can Ali Marandi, Igor Novikov, Joshua Sheng, Benjamin Bok, Victor Mikhalevski, Melikset Khachiyan, and Akshat Chandra. Parligras is the only guest to teach completely virtually, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Barden, Leonard (April 10, 2015). "Rex Sinquefield continuing his quest to make US into a superpower". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ Our Beginnings. Archived April 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 29, 2013.
- ^ Woytus, Amanda (October 23, 2018). "Watch Rex Sinquefield talk about chess Tuesday night on HBO's "Real Sports"". www.stlmag.com. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ Fagone, Jason. "The Queen's New Gambit: Chess as a Great American Spectator Sport". Wired Magazine. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
- ^ Williams, Erin. "St. Louis Scores A Checkmate For International Students". St. Louis Public Radio. NPR.org. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
- ^ Hough, Randy. "USCF Recognizes Leaders at Awards Luncheon". uschess.org. USCF. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
- ^ About the Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
- ^ "Champions Showdown Chess 9LX: Carlsen and Nakamura share first place". Chess News. September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ "2020 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX | www.uschesschamps.com". uschesschamps.com. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Beaton, Andrew; Robinson, Joshua (March 7, 2023). "How Sexual Assault Allegations Against a U.S. Chess Grandmaster Went Unaddressed for Years". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Benchaabene, Nassim (July 19, 2024). "Chess champion claims retaliation". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. A1, A5. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ Doggers, Peter. "The Wall Street Journal: 8 Women Accuse Ramirez Of Wrongdoing". chess.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
- ^ a b Svensen (TarjeiJS), Tarjei J. (October 4, 2023). "St. Louis Chess Club Issues Statement on Ramirez Case". Chess.com. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ Benchaabane, Nassim (August 17, 2023). "Major chess broadcaster cuts ties with St. Louis club". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. A1. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "Breaking the Silence". lichess.org. August 10, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ Svensen, Tarjei. "WSJ: Chess Platforms Halt Relationships With Saint Louis Chess Club". chess.com. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- ^ Beaton, Andrew; Robinson, Joshua (August 16, 2023). "Chess World Splits Over Handling of Sexual Misconduct Allegations". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "STLCC Board Letter" (PDF). October 2, 2023.
- ^ Munz, Michele (January 31, 2011). "St. Louis chessman shows he's the grandmaster". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved April 3, 2013.