Jennifer Shahade

Jennifer Shahade
Shahade in 2002
Personal information
Born (1980-12-31) December 31, 1980
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
SpouseDaniel Meirom
Chess career
CountryUnited States
TitleWoman Grandmaster (2005)
FIDE rating2322 (January 2006)
Peak rating2366 (April 2003)

Jennifer Shahade (born December 31, 1980) is an American chess player, poker player, commentator and writer. She is a two-time United States Women's Champion and has the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster.

Shahade is the author of the books Chess Bitch, Play Like a Girl, Chess Queens, and most recently, Thinking Sideways. She is also co-author of Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess.

From 2018 to 2023, she was the Women's Program Director at the United States Chess Federation. She is also a MindSports Ambassador for PokerStars and a board member of the World Chess Hall of Fame in Saint Louis.

Early life

Shahade was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of FIDE Master Mike Shahade and Drexel University chemistry professor and author Sally Solomon.[1] Her father is Lebanese Christian and her mother is Lebanese Jewish.[2][3] Her older brother, Greg Shahade, is an International Master.[4] She attended Julia R. Masterman School.[5]

Career

In 1998, she became the first woman to win the U.S. Junior Open.[6]

In 2002, she won the U.S. Women's Chess Championship in Seattle, Washington. At the next U.S. Women's Championship, she earned her second International Master norm, and in 2004, she won her second U.S. Women's Chess Championship.[7]

Shahade earned a degree in comparative literature at New York University.[8]

Her writing has appeared in the LA Times, The New York Times, Chess Life, New In Chess, and Games Magazine. Her first book, Chess Bitch: Women in the Ultimate Intellectual Sport (Siles Press, ISBN 1-890085-09-X) was published in October 2005.[9]

Shahade is the former web editor-in-chief of the United States Chess Federation website[10] and has hosted a monthly chess podcast, Ladies Knight, for the federation.[11]

In 2007, Shahade co-founded a chess non-profit called 9 Queens.[12]

Shahade is also a poker player.[13][14] In 2014, she became the MindSports Ambassador for PokerStars.[15] On December 9, 2014, Shahade won the first TonyBet Open Face Chinese Poker Live World Championship High Roller Event, taking home €100,000.[16]

Shahade is the host of the poker podcast the GRID, which she produces with her husband Daniel Meirom. In 2019, the GRID won the Global Poker Award for Podcast of the Year.[17] She is also a former coach for the training website Run It Once.

Shahade is a board member of the World Chess Hall of Fame.[18] In 2018, Shahade became the woman's program director at the U.S. Chess Federation, which brings chess programming to thousands of girls in the country.[19] Shahade resigned from the US Chess Federation on September 6, 2023.[20] She claimed that the Federation treated her with "hostility instead of support" and that she was "constantly minimized or ignored" when she came forward with allegations of assault against GM Alejandro Ramírez.[21] Shahade released a statement on her social media regarding her resignation, stating: "Based on what I’ve seen, I cannot currently lend my credibility to the organization in good conscience. This is especially true since I’ve become a de facto confidante for so many women and girls—making it essential for me to have faith in executive decision-making and communication."[21] In 2026, the U.S. Chess Federation announced they had "resolved all matters between them amicably" and named Shahade "the first-ever Official Ambassador of US Chess".[22]

Personal life

Shahade is married to Daniel Meirom. They live in Philadelphia and have a son, Fabian, born in 2017. In 2019, they created "Not Particularly Beautiful", an art installation that overlaid misogynist insults directed at women in chess over the squares of a chessboard.[18][23]

In February 2023, Shahade accused Alejandro Ramírez of sexually assaulting her twice, and stated that she had heard from other alleged victims. On March 6, Ramírez resigned his affiliation with the Saint Louis Chess Club and the Saint Louis University chess team.[24] The following day, The Wall Street Journal published an article corroborating Shahade's claims, finding based on interviews with eight women, that Ramírez had made unwelcome sexual advances towards them since 2011 and that the alleged behavior was an open secret.[19] After investigations, the United States Chess Federation confirmed Ramírez's permanent ban from US Chess membership on May 24, 2023,[25] and on October 2, 2023, the Saint Louis Chess Club's board of directors published a statement indicating Ramírez was forbidden from participating in any events affiliated with the Saint Louis Chess Club, standing behind the United States Chess Federation's decision to suspend Ramírez.[26]

Works and publications

  • Shahade, Jennifer (2005). Chess Bitch: Women in the Ultimate Intellectual Sport. Siles Press. ISBN 1-890085-09-X.
  • Shahade, Jennifer (2011). Play Like a Girl!. Mongoose Press. ISBN 978-1-936277-03-2.
  • Shahade, Jennifer (2022). Chess Queens: The True Story of a Chess Champion and the Greatest Female Players of All Time. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1399701372.
  • Shahade, Jennifer (2023). Play Like a Champion. Mongoose Press. ISBN 978-1936277582.
  • Shahade, Jennifer (2026). Thinking Sideways. Hodder Press. ISBN 978-1399701327.

References

  1. ↑ Reid, Pauleanna (February 18, 2019). "Two-Time Women's US Champion, Jennifer Shahade, Teaches Us Four Life Lessons From The Game Of Chess". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  2. ↑ Haspel Ben-Dak, Yehudit (February 24, 2013). "What Drives Jennifer Shahade, And Where's She Heading?". Jewish Business News. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  3. ↑ Shahade, Jennifer (February 17, 2007). "Jennifer's Blog: Linares Impressions". Uschess.org. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  4. ↑ Hoffman, Paul (August 2003). "Chess Queen". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ McQuade, Dan (May 13, 2016). "An Interview with Philly Chess and Poker Pro Jennifer Shahade". Philadelphia. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Chess Icon Jennifer Shahade to Lecture on Women in Chess". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  7. ↑ -lk. "The United States Chess Federation - WGM Jennifer Shahade". www.uschess.org. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Pawn's Shop | Philly Weekly". philadelphiaweekly.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  9. ↑ "'Chess Bitch' – an eye-opener by Jennifer Shahade". Chess News. October 31, 2005. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Jennifer Shahade, Author, Chess Bitch, U.S. Women's Chess Champion 2002, 2004". Gothamist. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  11. ↑ Shahade, Jennifer (August 22, 2022). "Ladies Knight, August 2022: Tatia Skhirtladze". United States Chess Federation News. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023. Ladies Knight" is a monthly US Chess podcast hosted by WGM Jennifer Shahade, two-time US Women's Chess Champion, featuring female chess champions and leaders.
  12. ↑ "About the Founders". 9 Queens. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Jennifer Shahade | KYE186 | United States | The Official Global Poker Index – GPI Rankings". www.globalpokerindex.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Jennifer Shahade's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  15. ↑ Scimia, Ed (July 7, 2015). "Jennifer Shahade Talks to CardsChat About Life as a Poker Star, Being a Chess Grandmaster, and Tying It All Together". CardsChat.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  16. ↑ "TonyBetPoker.Com". tonybetpoker.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  17. ↑ "The 2nd Annual Global Poker Awards Celebrated 25 of Poker's Best Including Poker ICON Recipient Johnny Chan". March 7, 2020. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  18. 1 2 Shahade, Jennifer (October 17, 2019). "On Chess: Not Particularly Beautiful". St. Louis Public Radio. Retrieved March 7, 2023. "Not Particularly Beautiful" is a chessboard I created with Daniel Meirom...Jennifer Shahade is a commentator, author and the director of Women's Programs at US Chess. She is also a board member at the World Chess Hall of Fame.
  19. 1 2 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. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  20. ↑ "US Chess Announces Jennifer Shahade's Departure". United States Chess Federation. September 4, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Svensen, Tarjei J. (September 7, 2023). "Jennifer Shahade Resigns Director Position At US Chess". Chess.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  22. ↑ Hartmann, John (March 31, 2026). "An Announcement from US Chess | US Chess.org". new.uschess.org. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  23. ↑ Thomas, Louisa (August 2, 2021). "Hou Yifan and the Wait for Chess's First Woman World Champion". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  24. ↑ Levin, Anthony (March 6, 2023). "Alejandro Ramirez Resigns From Saint Louis Chess Club". Chess.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  25. ↑ "US Chess Final Statement About Alejandro Ramirez Investigation". US Chess.org. May 24, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  26. ↑ "An Important Message from the Board of Directors" (PDF). saintlouischessclub.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
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