Women’s chess master claims she was raped at tournament

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A women’s international chess master has accused a fellow player of rape and sexual harassment and reveals the “toxic culture” of misogyny and predatory behaviour she experienced at tournaments.

Sabrina Chevannes, 36, alleges the assault happened when she was a teen and blackout drunk.

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“I woke up in the linen room of the hotel on a table,” she told The Independent. “I was in so much pain. I didn’t quite understand what had happened.”

She detailed: “While playing chess I was in so much pain I could barely sit down. Him and his friends were high-fiving about it.”

Chevannes, who won 10 British titles and quit professional chess in January 2017, said discrimination in some form — be it sexual harassment, assault, sexism, and racism — has taken place at every chess tournament she has ever attended.

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She recalled getting groped by a “famous” chess master when she was 11 after she asked to take a photo with him.

Seven years later, the same man made “creepy” comments about her.

“He said, ‘You are developing so well.’ I said, ‘I was at my best rating,’ and he said, ‘No, I don’t mean developing like that.’”

He also remarked that she was now “legal in all countries.”

And in another incident involving a different player, Chevannes recalled staying in his hotel room after she had landed from a flight but could not check into her room until the afternoon and woke up to find him with one hand down her pants and the other in her bra.

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Chevannes, who is now a coach, said she did not report any of the incidents to police at the time because others told her she wouldn’t be believed.

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But social media posts she recently shared about her alleged experiences had been seen by the police who are now looking into her claims, the publication reported, adding that other female chess players have come forward in recent weeks to make allegations of sexual assault, violence and harassment from male players.

Chevannes called the chess community an “insular world” where people are judged by their playing skills and women are often belittled.

“Women are seen as inferior, they genuinely believe men are superior to women in every way — including intellectually,” she said. “If you beat someone, it’s described as you raped them.”

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