GM Ben Finegold Responds to the Alejandro Ramírez Comments

#benfinegold #chess #AlejandroRamírez

[Karen_Chess]

I don't believe all women the minute they claim abuse or assault etc. because both women and men are capable of lying. However, I would believe Jen even if she were the only one speaking out. The fact that more people have come forward pretty much cinches it for me. Of course we will let the investigations play out because we don't have all the information or understand the totality of the accusations and the extent of what happened. I don't give a fuck that some people say we shouldn't give opinions. If some things are discussed less than perfectly (and they have been) then so be it but the opinions will keep coming.

[JimmerMonroe]

"I'm less shocked but I'm also the worst person in the world.", GM Ben Finegold

[Xavier]

when you're opening argument is to state the legal age in costa rica is 15, I think you've already lost the thread.... He knows the law, he is a smart guy as you said, not sure why you don't come down on this harder instead of coming down incredibly light handed. Speaking as someone who generally likes your content

[danielb]

Ben was there when Moses parted the Red Sea. He was only a baby, but he remembers it well. Later, he hung out with Moses at his house a lot.

[spyseefan]

Its important to remember it doesn't matter what the law is; I do not get mad at people for breaking the law, I get mad at people for doing things that are bad.

[tt-duvc]

Ben, you are the only public figure in chess who is uploading videos about this case. Props to you.

[jaasonjones]

Here in Costa Rica the age of consent is in fact lower but adults hanging with minors is still seen as immoral, and people will hate you for it. You barely ever see relationships like that.

GO BEN! But stay there

[kirenn]

Rumours are that Ben knows Steinitz well. Not personally, since Steinitz died a long time before Ben was born, but in the sense that Ben knows how Steinitz lost his mind and was seen in a boat clutching a chess book and trying to challenge God to a chess match

[cristiangamboa]

Im from Costa Rica, age of concent according to our law is 15, only if the person you are consenting to is not more than 7 year older than you.

But it is a sill argument, abusing your students is crime here too.

[bharlesCabbage]

What the fuck does age of consent have to do with it? There was NO CONSENT. Sexual assault is a crime in Costa Rica.

[David_]

Ben has known me since before I was born

[klausfiedler]

When "no" means "nein" or "nine".

[clawsoon]

I may not agree with everything you say, but I'm glad you and Karen are talking about it. Other chess Youtubers seem to be avoiding it so far. Unfortunately, that's a pretty common dynamic in cases of potential abuse in lots of different organizations. Churches didn't want to turn people off of church, so they kept cases of abuse in church quiet. Police departments don't want to lower trust in policing, so they don't talk about police abuses. And now chess folks don't want to turn people off of chess - they want to keep it fun and interesting! - so they aren't talking about this. Unfortunately, even if people have good intentions, that's one of the ways that abuse gets swept under the rug.

[answeris]

Didn't Alejandro Ramirez ask Hans if women where throwing themselves at him at the US Open last year. It was a weird question but this takes that into contexts for sure.

[loureedsghost]

We're not upset you said the age of consent is lower. We're upset you said that like it means Alejandro is somehow influenced by being Costa Rican. In CR, people don't tolerate hitting on children in any way different than the US. That said, look at it here in the US. The age of consent is usually higher but obviously Alejandro got away with it for a while and how many people spoke up about it?

The problem is conflating being Costa Rican with maybe thinking it's okay to be attracted to young girls in a creepy way. That's just not true.

The other issue is on the OG stream, you said you weren't surprised and you'd guess it was him and you were openly apprehensive about him working with some kid, but it was okay since their parent was there.

FWIW, the 'database' thing isn't a novel idea. There's a comparable database in a different industry that you have to apply for access to (and that expires regularly) where you can learn about accusations against professional mentors that includes assault and harassment but also intellectual theft and so on.

[bobon]

Honestly Ben, I find your comment about Costa Rica AoC quite upsetting, and you made it worse in this video.

First of all, it is factually imprecise. Costa Rica age of consent depends on the age difference, as it is the case in many US states. Yes, in theory 15 is age of consent in Costa Rica, but if one side is between 15 and 17 the age difference between the parts has to be maximum seven years. In US it depends on the state. The _unrestricted_ AoC varies between 16 and 18. So a 35 year old in Georgia can have sex with a 17 years old girl, but not in Costa Rica. Moreover the looser condition when the partners are close in age is present in many US state too. For example in Arkansas and Maine a kid AoC is *14* if the age of the sexual partners is close enough. So no, *in general* Costa Rica does not have lower age of consent than US. It has stricter laws than some US states, looser laws than others, not comparable laws with others.

Second, you decided to make that comment instead of another comment. You can make factual comments that are still in bad taste, as your choice is highlighting an aspect of the story and therefore shadowing other aspects. If you tell me that X sexually assaulted Y, and I replied with "Well, X is a very handsome guy" it is irrelevant if it is true. I am still a bad person because of the aspect I decided to highlight of the story. By making a video in which I repeat several times "I said that X is very handsome because it is true" I am missing the point of the critique. In this case it is also false.

Third, AoC is completely irrelevant in this case, as *all* the 10+ cases discussed are cases of sexual assault, not consensual sex with a minor. There is no allegation of consensual sex with a minor - the only case for which Age of *Consent* would be relevant. By shifting the discussion toward Age of Consent and difference between legislations you make it seem like AR was accused of being in love with a slightly younger girl, something that would have been legal in other countries and just happens to be illegal in the specific US state. This is not the case: he is accused of multiple instances of _sexually assaulting_ a minor, and AoC is completely irrelevant to this. If you sexually assault a girl lower than 18 in Costa Rica you get aggravated sexual assault: no differences in legislation.

[Janet_Airlines]

Fun Fact of the day, people these days hate facts.

[fandemago]

in CR if you have sex with a person under 15 you are going to jail, also if the person is between 15 and less than 18 and the age difference is 7 years or more you also get time, . if you are related to the minor you algo get time, you cannot get married to a person under 18.

[jeremyrogers]

Ben's immortal game was against Alejandro, b3!! Double Exclam!!

[satkinson]

I agree 100% with some anonymous guy with an internet connection.