GM Alex Sherzer

[Simon Rogers]

The sad news has recently been reported that American Grandmaster Alexander Sherzer died on 4th December 2022, in Bonita Springs, Florida, aged just 51.
Alex was born on 1st February 1971 in Fallston, Maryland.
He won the U.S. Junior Championship in 1991 and became a Grandmaster in 1993.
RIP

[James Plaskett]

Any cause of death given?

[Simon Rogers]

Any cause of death given?

Hi James. Happy New Year to you.
I can't find anything at the moment.
Apparently, up until his death, he was a practising medical doctor and a volunteer for MSF.

[Gerard Killoran]

From https://www.aei.org/articles/rah-rah-block-that-rook/

At the 2002 Pan Am Tournament, UMBC ’s “B” team upset its “A” team to win the title. (The “A” team, meanwhile, tied for second place with UTD.) The “B” team was anchored by Alex “The Surgeon” Sherzer, a 32-year-old grandmaster.

Several months later, in May of 2003, Sherzer would stun the collegiate chess community when he was arrested in Alabama for allegedly attempting to solicit sex from a 15-year-old girl he met on the Internet, according to wire services. He was acquitted of the charges, but because of the arrest, additional details came to light. Sherzer, who left UMBC before classes ended for an internship in Louisiana, had already received a medical degree from a university in Hungary.

[James Plaskett]

No, Kevin Thurlow.

I was already aware of the, er, crime for which he was, er, investigated. And I was unaware of his status as MD.

I was just wondering why a man of fifty-one should shuffle off this mortal coil, that´s all.

[Kevin Thurlow]

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.c ... WyPg?pli=1

discusses the court case. Basically, he was in contact with a 15-year-old girl, her mother "found" the correspondence and told the FBI. The latter took over the correspondence and made explicit suggestions to Sherzer, who rather stupidly decided to visit the girl. The court decided the correspondence was harmless until the FBI intervened. US courts tend to regard entrapment of this sort as a dirty trick, (and the FBI the only criminals), whereas I suspect in UK, they might not look at it this way.

[Simon Rogers]

No, Kevin Thurlow.

I was already aware of the, er, crime for which he was, er, investigated. And I was unaware of his status as MD.

I was just wondering why a man of fifty-one should shuffle off this mortal coil, that´s all.

According to the website Ever Loved:
"Alex unexpectedly passed in peace"

[Jon Mahony]

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.c ... WyPg?pli=1

discusses the court case. Basically, he was in contact with a 15-year-old girl, her mother "found" the correspondence and told the FBI. The latter took over the correspondence and made explicit suggestions to Sherzer, who rather stupidly decided to visit the girl. The court decided the correspondence was harmless until the FBI intervened. US courts tend to regard entrapment of this sort as a dirty trick, (and the FBI the only criminals), whereas I suspect in UK, they might not look at it this way.

Yes, I seem to remember reading at the time, he was caught with a diary in his possession which stated something along the lines of "April 15th, have sex with a 15 year old girl" with a smiley face. Even if it was a 1 off, by this time, he had certainly become allured with the idea. One has to ask the question, even pre-FBI, what was he doing talking to her? Can't see a Chess GM and MD overly interested in the chatter of a teenage girl - I feel he must, at least, have had ulterior motives in the back of his mind.

Probably, because the FBI majorly overplayed their hand, it was felt the case could not proceed despite other evidence.

Ben Finegold has made a tribute video about Sherzer, he addresses the legal troubles but does attempt to white wash it a little, as he has fond memories of him as a teenager. I can't help but feel the video was better off not getting made.

[Jonathan Rogers]

This is all news to me, but there are a number of states in the USA which recognise (improper forms of) entrapment as establishing a complete defence, so this would not be a big surprise. It might well have gone differently in the UK, where the defendant can only rely on a relatively uncertain doctrine of abuse of process, but it is hard to say more - much would depend exactly on what the FBI wrote in their undercover guise, and whether the FBI already had good reason to suspect him of other such activities.

[James Plaskett]

Strange business... But, with respect, I am more interested in what caused the death of a GM and MD at the early age of fifty-one...