Ending the Boycott

In August 2023, Lichess announced its boycott of both the US Chess Federation and the Saint Louis Chess Club due to serious concerns about their accountability for mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations. Last year, in June 2025, we resumed cooperation with Saint Louis Chess Club after positive changes and our own independent investigation.

Lichess is now resuming cooperation with US Chess, as we are satisfied that significant changes have been made to maintain a safe and supportive environment within the organisation. We have been able to discuss these matters at length with the new US Chess leadership, and we are confident that our concerns have been addressed.

In August 2023, US Chess announced the requirement for safe play training, with a requirement for all tournament directors to undertake core training from the U.S. Center for SafeSport by June 2024 to remain eligible to direct rated events. We believe this is an important and positive change. However, the incidents that led to our initial boycott were also reported to US Chess leadership, and so this change alone does not guarantee the correct organisational responses to such reports.

In March 2026, an amicable resolution was reached between US Chess and WGM Jennifer Shahade in the 2024 lawsuit.

US Chess leadership involved in the mishandling of historical allegations are no longer in such positions. Recent leadership changes have led to more open communication, which, in addition to organisation-wide changes in policy and actions, has given Lichess the confidence that future incidents will be dealt with appropriately. As such, we are lifting our boycott and will resume official broadcasts of US Chess events, and additional support Lichess provides to chess organisations.