Chess grandmaster Andrejs Strebkovs (43) has been banned for five years by the world chess federation for sexually harassing at least 15 female chess players. One of the victims has now spoken out about the Latvian's disgusting letters and is calling for a much harsher punishment.
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- For ten years, Latvian chess player Andrejs Strebkovs harassed young female chess players with disgusting letters.
- The letters contained pornographic material, including used condoms.
- The world federation banned the Latvian for five years.
- One of the victims has now spoken out about the disgusting mail and demanded a much harsher punishment.
Due to a "disturbing pattern of harassment of female chess players", the world federation banned chess grandmaster Andrejs Strebkovs for five years in August 2024. "The investigation revealed that dozens of female players, some as young as 14 years old, received obscene letters containing pornographic material and used condoms," it said in a statement.
Now one of the chess players affected, Anna Cramling Bellon, has spoken about Strebkov's letters in a podcast. "The worst thing was that he pretended to be someone else when sending the letters," says the 22-year-old. "I opened one and thought it was from a friend. It was disgusting. I was completely horrified and thought: 'Why am I getting something like this?
Cramling Bellon feels that the five-year ban that has now been handed down is far too lax. "He should have been banned for at least 30 to 40 years. This man had the addresses of all these girls and sent them something so disgusting. It's horrible," said the chess player.
Numerous chess fans online agree with the 22-year-old. They too cannot understand how Strebkovs only received a five-year ban for his crime. Many are also upset about this: Police investigations in Latvia were followed by criminal proceedings, which concluded that Strebkovs' actions did not constitute a criminal offense under Latvian law.