Chess prodigy: ‘Jessie hated her father, but not enough to kill herself’
Friends of chess prodigy who fell to her death from a hotel window dismiss
suicide theory, despite rape allegations against her father

By Lauren Veevers
30 July 2006

Friends and coaches of Jessie Gilbert, the chess prodigy who plunged
to her death from an eighth-floor hotel window last week, spoke
yesterday of their shock at learning that her father is accused of
raping her.

Jessie, 19, was remembered at the Weald Chess Congress in Crawley,
where a minute’s silence was held before around 100 players from
across Sussex, Kent and Surrey – Jessie’s home county – began the
first round of the competition. Jessie was supposed to have been
playing in the top section of the tournament, and many here knew the
teenager and her family well.

It emerged yesterday that Jessie’s father, Ian Gilbert, a 48-year-old
City banker, had been charged with seven counts of rape and two
indecent assaults. Surrey police confirmed that Mr Gilbert was
awaiting trial at Guildford Crown Court on 21 August.

Members of Jessie’s chess club, Wood Green in Surrey, were
particularly saddened by claims that she had jumped from her hotel
window in the Czech Republic, where she was staying during an
international chess tournament. Early reports had suggested that her
death was the result of sleepwalking, which Jessie was known to suffer
from.

Chess players from Jessie’s area were largely unaware of the troubles
she had been facing in her home life, and were stunned by the
accusations against her father. Susan Lalic, 40, a grandmaster who
played against Jessie in a tournament last year, said:

"I don’t believe that it could have been suicide. Even if the claims
are true, there is no way it is something Jessie would do.

"She had her whole life before her. Jessie was a real fighter. She was
bubbly, clever and considerate. I don’t think she would have done this
to her family on purpose.”

Another friend, who did not wish to be named, said: "We all knew that
Jessie’s mum and dad had split up, but that was years ago. She didn’t
see her dad. She hated him. They moved recently because of him, but
she wouldn’t kill herself over it.”

Jessie, who came to prominence at the age of 11 when she won the
Women’s World Amateur Championship, the youngest player ever to do so,
was sharing the hotel room with her best friend Amisha Parmar, 14. It
is believed the girls had been drinking heavily on the night of
Jessie’s death.

Jessie’s mother, a research scientist, and her three sisters, were
heavily involved in the chess world, but it was Jessie who showed the
most talent from a young age. Jonathan Tuck, who had coached Jessie at
the world championships, said: "Jessie’s mum was keen for her to do
well. She encouraged her a lot. It is important for young players to
dedicate a lot of time and effort to it, and that is what I remember
about Jessie. She focused 100 per cent. Her concentration level was
exceptional – she would sit for hours taking in the board.”

Sue Maguire, whose son plays chess at Jessie’s club said: "Nobody
likes to speculate whether Jessie jumped or was sleepwalking. It is
just so sad that the chess world has lost such a bright spark.”

Jessie was known by friends to have self-harmed on several
occasions. One said: "I think she did cut herself from time to time,
but I don’t think it was a big problem for her.”

Jessie was in the middle of the tournament, which consisted of five
rounds, and was doing well. She was taking a gap year and had planned
to go to Oxford University to study medicine.

Jessie’s sleepwalking was often serious. One friend at yesterday’s
tournament said: "Jessie once told me that she had jumped out of a
first-floor window when she was sleepwalking. When she woke up she
told her mum that she had been trying to fly. I am 90 per cent sure
that is what happened."

Her friend added that Jessie "phoned home a lot when she was away, as
she was very close to her mum and sisters”.

The pressure: A brutal, competitive world

The tragic case of Jessie Gilbert has shed new light on the world of
competitive chess, which, far from the genteel, intellectual pastime
many consider it, can often be brutal, exhausting and fiercely
competitive.

Just last month, at the Chess Olympiad in Turin, two grandmasters –
England’s Danny Gormally and Armenia’s Levon Aronian – took their
rivalry to a new level when Gormally, 30, reportedly punched Aronian
in the face. The dispute, thought to be sparked by rivalry over female
grandmaster Arianne Caoili, demonstrated the pressure-cooker
atmosphere of major chess tournaments.

Chess prodigies can run an increased risk of emotional or social
problems as they grow up, says Linda Blair, clinical psychologist at
the University of Bath. She said it was not their high spatial ability
that was the problem, but the way people, particularly parents,
responded to and focused on that ability. Too often, this resulted in
the best players being seen as eccentric or "loners". JT

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress