European master is accused of 'sending underage female players porn'

Chess has #Metoo movement as European master is accused of ‘sexually harassing underage female players by sending them porn and used condoms over ten years’

  • A chess master allegedly sent scores of white envelopes containing pages from pornographic magazines to 15 female chess players  
  • The man would allegedly fold the page of porn and put a used condom inside before sending it
  • The suspect has allegedly sent the packages to women and girls since 2009

A European chess master has been accused of sexually harassing underage female players by sending them pornographic images and packages of used condoms for over ten years.  

The man allegedly sent scores of white envelopes containing pages from pornographic magazines to 15 women and girls, five of whom were under the age of 18, since at least 2009.

The suspect would allegedly fold the page of porn and put a used condom inside before sending it, the female chess players told Russian news site Meduza.

The claims by the 15 women have highlighted what the mother of a victim described as a ‘toxic atmosphere’ in chess.

Russian chess player Valentina Gunina, 33, is alleged to have received one of the letters

Despite the packages being sent since 2009, the alleged harassment has only come to light now after several female players who were staying at a Latvian hotel in Riga for an international tournament in November last year said they had all received letters from the suspect. A police investigation has since been launched. 

Russian chess player Valentina Gunina, 33, who is alleged to have received one of the letters, told the Telegraph: ‘There was a condom inside. A used one. I had no idea anyone else was getting them. I thought it was just me.’

Gunina, a chess grandmaster, said the first letter she received was sent to her chess school in Moscow when she was in her 20s. ‘There are lots of crazy people around,’ she added.

She told the newspaper that she began worrying about the letters when one arrived at the international tournament in Latvia in November.

‘I never received any letters to my home address – only to my school, which made me feel safe. This time it triggered me because it was me again and many more girls.’

The mother of 17-year-old Kazakh chess player Bibisara Assaubayeva, who was allegedly among the women targeted by the suspect, said she and other women had filed a complaint to Russian police previously but no investigation was opened formally.

Speaking about a package her daughter received, Liana Tanzharikova told Meduza: ‘There was a spread of a porno magazine where two or three men raped a girl, there was a condom with liquid.’

She said that it pointed to a ‘toxic’ atmosphere in the sport. 

But others, like chess player Alina Bivol, who received 15 envelopes, said that suspect’s actions were ‘more like a cry from the heart’. 

The mother of 17-year-old Kazakh chess player Bibisara Assaubayeva (pictured), who was allegedly among the women targeted by the suspect, said she and other women had filed a complaint to Russian police previously but no investigation was opened formally

A former chess player, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Telegraph: ‘This is the stuff from books about maniacs. There is no other way of putting it.’ 

The player said that often, male chess players to not hide their dislike for female players playing at their level. 

She said: ‘There is a lot of prejudice coming from boys and men. They often want to show off their superiority.’  

Fide, the international governing body for chess, said it reported the letters sent to players at a hotel in Latvia to police as soon as they were discovered.

It said: ‘We reported it to the police right away on behalf of the players, to minimise distractions to them. We can confirm that the Latvian Police took it seriously and it is actively investigating.’  

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