Anna Cramling Says She Also Received Obscene Letters: 'I Thought It Was Just Me'

Swedish chess player and influencer WFM Anna Cramling has revealed that she is among the many female players who were harassed by a male chess player, expressing her dismay at the punishment handed down to the perpetrator.

Latvian IM Andrejs Strebkovs was last month banned by FIDE's Ethics & Disciplinary Commission (EDC) for five years following an investigative story that detailed how the 43-year-old had sent pages of pornographic magazines and used condoms to at least 15 young, female players for more than a decade. 

Until recently the known victims were mostly Russian, but Cramling has now come forward and said she also received one such letter 4-5 years ago.

"Yes, he sent letters to me as well. It was several years ago. I don't remember everything, but I guess I was 17-18 years old at the time," she told the Norwegian podcast Sjakksnakk ("Chess chat"), hosted by Guinness World Record holders Askild Bryn and CM Odin Blikra Vea this month.

The 22-year-old from Sweden, daughter of GM Pia Cramling and GM Juan Bellon Lopez, is one of the world's most popular chess personalities boasting more than a million followers across her social media and YouTube channels. She also streams on Twitch to almost half a million followers.

She described the unsettling experience upon receiving the letter by her father at her family home. "The craziest is that he would send the letters as if he was someone else. So I opened up the letter thinking it was from a friend. It shook me up and I was like 'Why do I have this?' It's crazy."

In an interview with Swedish newspaper Expressen after her podcast appearance, she added that she panicked. "It was pretty awkward that it was a used condom there. That was the disgusting thing." 

She expressed her horror at discovering that she was not the only victim. "At that time I thought I was the only one, but then I saw that it had happened to a lot of other girls. It's horrible. It's disgusting."

At that time I thought I was the only one, but then I saw that it had happened to a lot of other girls. It's horrible. It's disgusting.

Since the verdict became public, several people have expressed outrage at the length of the ban, arguing that it should be longer than five years. Podcast host Blikra Vea, currently captaining Norway at the 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad, says that he is normally a supporter of giving people a second chance, just not in this case.

"I think he should be banned for life. Nobody would feel comfortable if he showed up at tournaments again, especially the ones who were subjected to this. He should definitely be banned from chess for life," he said. 

Cramling is not pleased with the length of the ban, saying: "This man had the addresses of all these people and sent something so disgusting to these young girls. It’s terrible. I think his sentence should have been much stricter."

Others have also noted that since the story was reported by Meduza in 2022, Strebkovs played in a total of nine tournaments, including the tournament in Hungary that he was playing on the day of the verdict. He was eventually removed following a complaint by a female player and a request from FIDE to the tournament organizer.

A chess master had been sending used condoms and porn to female players for years, some were underage.
It was only after an article by @meduza_en in 2022 that @FIDE_chess began to take action, which took another 2.5 years.
During that time, the offender took part in 9 tournaments https://t.co/PXCuI4g2e0

— Paul Meyer-Dunker (@Meyer_Dunker) August 13, 2024

"I definitely think his sentence should be a lot higher. He should have minimum 30-40 years. Five years is way too little. I don't understand what's happening with that," Cramling said.

Latvian police conducted an investigation of Strebkovs, but concluded in January 2023 that his actions were not a criminal offense under their law, and no action was taken. According to EDC, he did not deny sending the letters, but argued that FIDE lacked jurisdiction over the matter, claiming that the letters were "private correspondence unrelated to chess activities."

Cramling's story highlights ongoing issues within the chess community, where several female players have spoken out about experieincing harassment and inappropriate behavior. It's not the first time the influential chess personality has shared such experiences. During a podcast with IM Levy Rozman, aka GothamChess, in 2022, she also said she received messages from opponents when she was a minor.

"Many times when I played games against somebody in a chess tournament, the person I've played against has sent me a message. 'Hey, I was thinking about all these things while playing today,' and then they bring up sexual stuff."

In a tweet from 2022, she recalled an incident from the European Youth Chess Championship in Romania, when she was 15 years old, where she was told by an arbiter that wearing shorts was distracting male players. 

This happened to me at a very important championship, and it made me feel sad and embarassed for simply wearing shorts when it was 40C outside. We need to make chess a better environment for girls and women in general, to make the ones that do wanna play chess, stay.

— Anna Cramling (@AnnaCramling) January 14, 2022

Recently Cramling, in a conversation with IM Anna Rudolf during "Lie Detector Chess," detailed how she gets unsolicited fan requests, marriage proposals, and inappropriate messages.

"It’s just like, I’m playing chess! You don’t know me! It’s weird, but I think most people do it as a joke. I don’t think they’re seriously hoping I’d say yes. It’s not the worst thing, but it’s definitely weird," she said.

Cramling is currently in Budapest where she is playing in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad, where she plays board three for Sweden, alongside her mother Pia.