Breaking the Silence

to those saying innocent until proven guilty.

my opinion is lichess' response isn't about calling someone guilty of anything, it's about

1. organisations that allegedly failed to act on multiple reports of assault
2. which if true are in some ways partly responsible for the subsequent alleged assaults that occurred
3. allegedly failed to protect their members
4. but the biggest let down is those organisations have shown they haven't learnt from this, therefor it's more likely to occur again. they have repeatedly said they acted timely and appropriate, yet, they also say they have made policy and other changes. why the need for changes if they acted appropriately and timely?

everyone makes mistakes, but if you aren't held accountable, if you are protected and enabled, those mistakes will keep happening and get bigger and bigger.

if we fail to hold these organisations accountable, they will keep making the same mistakes and the mistakes will get bigger and bigger.

I understand the desire to provide a "safe" environment for female chess players.
However, I completely disagree with both the logic and the decision taken by lichess.

First, we mix up two young men with very distinct profiles and "sexual" charges.
Mr. Ramirez is an American chess podcaster and trainer, and Mr. Gareyev is an Uzbek GM now living in America.
They happen to be members of the same large organizations (US Chess Club, Saint Louis Chess Club), which makes statistical sense but truly means nothing.
Mr Ramirez is accused of being a classic "soft" sexual predator profile, whereas Mr Gareyev is accused of being a violent impulsive attacker.

Second, the majority of complaints occurred outside of the chess clubs' organization.
As a result, these actions should be assessed and condemned in a court of law based on their actual incidence and severity.
Mrs. Shahade's allegations of being "attacked" and "abused" are deliberately ambiguous, as "sexual abuse" encompasses anything from forced penile penetration to unwelcome physical contact.
Furthermore, none of these actions have been confirmed or condemned, no witness has seen anything, and many women have reported anonymously.
The article criticizes transparency regarding the organizations reports and condemnation, not the womens allegations or proofs, which is unfair.

Third, allegations were investigated by both organizations, some communication occurred, and decisions were taken.
Some people falsify or seriously distort reality in order to get attention, just as some people are sexual predators.
As a result, in the absence of any proof, witnesses, or a court judgement, the best method was probably to wait for accumulating evidences and bad press rather than reaching a quick conclusion based solely on blind (anonymous) allegations confidence.
This is what occurred.
- Mr. Ramirez stopped being involved with minors as early as 2020.
- He was chosen as the coach of the 2022 Women's Olympic Team by the women themselves, not by any organization.
- He resigned from Saint Louis Chess Club.
- Both Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Gareyev's memberships in US Chess have been suspended in 2022/2023.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect "far more" from a chess club or organization.

That's a critical area of concern which can't be taken easily.
If something can't maintain the balance and ecosystem of the surrounding, it doesn't deserve to be existing.
Need to know what USCF and STLCC are doing about the matter and how are they having decorum in all especially those aspects.
Much appreciated from Lichess and some other sources for bringing out the matter.
Time to stand up against wrong doings.

this policy of relentless persecution of inappropriate behavior is the only right thing to do. Men in particular must be rigorously held accountable and severely punished. Thank you lichess for protecting those who unfortunately need it.

@jns0808 said in #183:
> "It's not our job to publically shame someone and open ourselves up to litigation without concrete proof."
> While they should have removed him from that position, it does not change the fact that for an action they undertake they will immediately open themselves up to being sued to oblivion.
>
> I love your hyperfocusing on one aspect to appeal to the sentiments shared by everyone (i.e. that children must be protected) , and completely missing the point.

Actually with kids it's everyone's job who works with them to keep them safe and report abuse. That's the law in almost every state.

Hi guys liked the blog?

@chesspagan said in #111:
> While a member of the US Chess Executive Board from 2009-2016, I never heard about any of this. If it was discussed, the discussions did not include everyone. As a Licensed Mental Health Professional during that period, I would have been duty bound to report allegations of abuse to local authorities. Hopefully they/we are now more proactive and the recent decision to mandate Safe Play training for all tournament directors is a good start
> Michael Atkins, US NTD and International Arbiter

Forwarding these type of reports to the authorities should be the default stance of organizations like this for several reasons. We've seen how "handling it in house" has worked for church organizations. Also, uscf and stlcc aren't equipped or qualified to run investigations beyond what an hr department would do (and probably don't have much of one either compared to a normal corporation). If they start questioning and investigating this may even impede the proper functioning of the authorities.

Now you could argue this default reporting stance may make people less willing to report to an organization, but I think it is the only stance that makes sense. These various assaults reported weren't forwarded to authorities at the time they were reported (maybe they have been at this point).

It's harder to say what organizations should do in terms of actions themselves and in some ways the answer has to be "it depends". If there are direct witnesses reporting and/or multiple reports about the same individual it's quite clear, but if a single report says "this person tried to forcibly kiss me in a social setting outside of an event (restaurant, on the street, etc) it's less clear. Should an immediate suspension/ ban take place in that instance? Yes they are a private group and can do what they want but they also have the keys to people's ability to pursue their profession in this case. That opens them up to legal issues and their lawyers will advise them on what they should be doing or not doing. I can see them dancing around that for say the first allegation against ramirez but when a second hits it's much easier for an organization to take action from that legal perspective.

The real damning thing was letting him coach the Olympiad team after receiving any allegations, that's just mind boggling.

speechless

@DmitriiPrevozniuk said in #126:
> Oh no, a woman accused someone of sexual assault without any evidience! Let's post this on a chess website or else poor woman wont get any attention and may even (oh god!) lose it in the court, unless we push the (((right))) decision upon it!

Ok so you obviously don't know how evidence works, especially witness testimony. How many people have you prosecuted? How many times have you been in court having investigated allegations, interviewed suspects and witnesses, gathered evidence and witness statements, made a file, and secured a criminal conviction? Because if you haven't, you are hardly in a position to know. Also, unless you are personally and intimately aquainted with this case, how do you know what evidence there is and whether or not it is sufficient? It seems there are an abundance of allegations, witnesses, and victims here, and the main issue which you also seem to have missed is not whether or not the GMs are guilty, but the way the US Chess Federation and STLCC have seemingly been brushing these serious allegations under the carpet for years.

Also, I think it is very telling about the sort of person you are that you thought it was funny when I mentioned in #154 that I was recently a recipient of sexually explicit and inappropriate messages here on Lichess. If you think that women just make up these allegations to get attention, you are part of the problem...

Thanks to lichess for proving time and again that you will stand up for what is right regardless of the garbage that comes through and the cost to yourselves.

All solidarity with the women mistreated in these stories and here's to making the chess world a better place and teaching these creeps that actions have consequences