Jennifer Shahade (born December 31, 1980) is an American
chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
player, poker player, commentator and writer. She is a two-time United States Women's Champion and has the
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...
title of
Woman Grandmaster. Shahade is the author of the books ''Chess Bitch'', ''Play Like a Girl'', and most recently, ''Chess Queens'', and co-author of ''
Marcel Duchamp
Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...
: The Art of Chess''. From 2018 to 2023, she was the Women's Program Director at the
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in FIDE, The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national Chess ...
. She is also a MindSports Ambassador for
PokerStars
PokerStars is an online poker cardroom. It is the largest real money online poker site in the world, controlling over two-thirds of the total online poker market, and can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for Windows, macOS, Androi ...
and a board member of the
World Chess Hall of Fame
The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a nonprofit collecting institution in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1984, it features chess exhibits, engages in educational outreach, and maintains a ...
in Saint Louis.
Early life
Shahade was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of
FIDE Master
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...
Mike Shahade and
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...
chemistry professor and author Sally Solomon. Her father is Lebanese and her mother is Jewish. Her older brother,
Greg Shahade
Gregory Shahade (born December 22, 1978) is an International Master of chess. He founded the New York Masters and the U.S. Chess League. He is a former member of the executive board of the United States Chess Federation, to which his younger si ...
, is an International Master. She attended
Julia R. Masterman School.
Career
In 1998, she became the first woman to win the U.S. Junior Open.
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
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...
norm, and in 2004, she won her second U.S. Women's Chess Championship.
Shahade earned a degree in
comparative literature
Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...
at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
.
Her writing has appeared in the ''
LA Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the large ...
'', ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
Chess Life
The monthly ''Chess Life'' and bi-monthly ''Chess Life Kids'' (formerly ''School Mates'' and ''Chess Life for Kids'') are the official magazines published by the United States Chess Federation (US Chess). ''Chess Life'' is advertised as the "m ...
'', ''
New In Chess'', and ''Games Magazine''. Her first book, ''Chess Bitch: Women in the Ultimate Intellectual Sport'' (Siles Press, ) was published in October 2005.
Shahade is the former web editor-in-chief of the
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in FIDE, The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national Chess ...
website and has hosted a monthly chess podcast, ''Ladies Knight,'' for the federation.
In 2007, Shahade co-founded a chess non-profit called 9 Queens.
Shahade is also a poker player. In 2014, she became the MindSports Ambassador for
PokerStars
PokerStars is an online poker cardroom. It is the largest real money online poker site in the world, controlling over two-thirds of the total online poker market, and can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for Windows, macOS, Androi ...
. On December 9, 2014, Shahade won the first
TonyBet Open Face Chinese Poker Live World Championship High Roller Event, taking home €100,000.
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. 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
The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a nonprofit collecting institution in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1984, it features chess exhibits, engages in educational outreach, and maintains a ...
.
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.
Shahade resigned from the US Chess Federation on September 6, 2023. 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.
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."
[
]
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.
In February 2023, Shahade accused Alejandro Ramirez of sexually assaulting her twice, and stated that she had heard from other alleged victims. The United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in FIDE, The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national Chess ...
and Saint Louis Chess Club are, , investigating Ramírez over the alleged sexual misconduct. On March 6, Ramírez resigned his affiliation with the Saint Louis Chess Club and the Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...
chess team. 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.
Works and publications
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References
External links
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Hendon Mob profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahade, Jennifer
1980 births
Living people
American chess writers
American female chess players
American chess players
American non-fiction writers
American people of Lebanese descent
Chess Woman Grandmasters
American women non-fiction writers
Jewish American sportspeople
Jewish chess players
American female poker players
American poker players
Chess players from Philadelphia
21st-century American Jews
Sportspeople of Lebanese descent
21st-century American women