Jen Shahade, who resides in Philadelphia, told PokerNews that her hometown has "passionate" poker players during the PokerStars Summer Series at Live! Hotel & Casino Philadelphia.
The PokerStars ambassador didn't have to go far — about 20 minutes — to register for Day 1b of the $2,200 buy-in series finale, which features a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool. And it came at a time when she's made some news outside the poker community.
Stepping Away from US Chess
Shahade is a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in chess and has served as the Director for the US Chess Women's Program since 2018, and has been with US Chess in some capacity since 2006. But due to, as she wrote earlier this week, the organization has "minimized or ignored" allegations of sexual assault. As such, she has stepped down from her long-held role.
In a Substack post titled, "I Am Leaving US Chess," she revealed that, effective Sept. 7, she left the chess program she started four years earlier.
"After I went public in February with a viral tweet about being assaulted by a prominent Grandmaster, things escalated quickly," Shahade wrote.
Despite her efforts to bring attention to the issue, as she explained in her Substack post, she was "met with hostility" instead of support, and a lawyer representing US Chess advised her to be "mindful" that her actions could jeopardize the organization. Due to the unsupportive response, she could no longer continue in her role.
The PokerStars ambassador didn't have to go far — about 20 minutes — to register for Day 1b of the $2,200 buy-in series finale, which features a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool. And it came at a time when she's made some news outside the poker community.
Stepping Away from US Chess
Shahade is a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in chess and has served as the Director for the US Chess Women's Program since 2018, and has been with US Chess in some capacity since 2006. But due to, as she wrote earlier this week, the organization has "minimized or ignored" allegations of sexual assault. As such, she has stepped down from her long-held role.
In a Substack post titled, "I Am Leaving US Chess," she revealed that, effective Sept. 7, she left the chess program she started four years earlier.
"After I went public in February with a viral tweet about being assaulted by a prominent Grandmaster, things escalated quickly," Shahade wrote.
Despite her efforts to bring attention to the issue, as she explained in her Substack post, she was "met with hostility" instead of support, and a lawyer representing US Chess advised her to be "mindful" that her actions could jeopardize the organization. Due to the unsupportive response, she could no longer continue in her role.
