Cheating at Chess

[Wayne Komer]

Cheating in Chess

October 5, 2020

From ChessBase:

Cheating controversy at Pro Chess League

10/5/2020 – The final of the Chess.com Pro Chess League was overshadowed by a cheating incident. The Chess.com Fair Play Team came to the conclusion that the Armenian Grandmaster Tigran Petrosian, who played for the Armenian Eagles, the team that had won the finals and the tournament, had used computer assistance in the final. The Armenian Eagles were deprived of victory, and Tigran Petrosian was banned for life from playing on the Chess.com server.

In the finals of the Pro Chess League series, the team of the Saint Louis Arch Bishops (which had players such as Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Leinier Dominguez, and others in their line-up) played against the Armenian Eagles (Tigran Petrosian, Haik Martirosyan, Parham Maghsoodloo, among others). The Armenian Eagles won the final and with it 20,000 dollars, but shortly afterwards allegations of cheating were raised against Tigran Petrosian.

But chess.com investigated the allegations and came to the conclusion that Petrosian had violated the fair play rules. Some of this games are conspicuously flawless and his moves are consistent with engine suggestions. The players were monitored by webcams during the games, but during the games Petrosian often looked down, allegedly to get access to computer assistance. Chess.com also came to the conclusion that Petrosian had used computer assistance during the semi-final matches.

Chess.com then deprived the Armenian Eagles of their victory, and declared the Saint Louis Arch Bishops the winners of the final. Tigran Petrosian's server access was deleted and he was banned for life from playing on the Chess.com server.

Press release by Chess.com

The Saint Louis Arch Bishops are the winners of the 2020 PRO Chess League championship. The Armenia Eagles have been disqualified from the 2020 season due to fair play violations.

After a thorough investigation, Chess.com's Fair Play team determined that GM Tigran L. Petrosian, who played for the Armenia Eagles, violated fair play regulations during games in both the semifinal and final matches that took place on September 25 and 27, respectively.

Chess.com and the PRO Chess League have issued a lifetime ban against Petrosian for his actions, and per section F of the league's regulations, the Armenia Eagles have been temporarily banned from participation in future PRO Chess League seasons.

PRO Chess League Commissioner IM Greg Shahade released the following statement:

"It's always unfortunate when the league is presented with evidence of fair play violations, but we stand behind the evidence presented from Chess.com's Fair Play team."

The 2020 title is the third title overall for the Saint Louis Arch Bishops and their second consecutive championship. Both the Canada Chessbrahs and China Pandas will receive $10,000, half of the sum of the second, third, and fourth place prizes.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/cheati...prochessleague

[David Ottosen]

Armenian Grandmaster Tigran Petrosian, who played for the Armenian Eagles, the team that had won the finals and the tournament, had used computer assistance in the final.

This is a whole new twist on Iron Tigran.

[Kerry Liles]

This is a whole new twist on Iron Tigran.

It is a shame that someone who is named the same as former world champion Petrosian should stoop to such a low level.
I cannot fathom why someone who HAS achieved a GM level can even consider cheating? Some low-life wanna-be sub
2000 player maybe, but a GM? I cannot understand cheating in any case - take up online poker or minesweeper.

[Wayne Komer]

Cheating in Chess

October 11, 2020

From The Times:

Chess cheat makes another false move

Jack Malvern | Leon Watson

When a photograph emerged of a chess grandmaster furtively using his phone to cheat while hidden in a lavatory cubicle during a tournament, it became one of the greatest scandals of the game.

Igors Rausis, 59, who had been the oldest player in the top 100, fell abruptly from grace last year when he was caught on camera with a mobile phone in his hand.

After admitting his guilt and accepting a record six-year ban by the World Chess Federation, the Ukrainian-born player seemed to have retired. That was until another player grew suspicious at a tournament on Saturday.

Arturs Neiksans, a Latvian grandmaster, was playing at the Vsevoloda Dudzinska Memorial chess tournament in Valka, Latvia, when he was alerted to a mysterious unrated player who had just crushed his opponent. The newcomer was also wearing a mask between rounds, making him hard to identify.

Neiksans said he was approached by a fellow player after the second round.

“He said, he sort of looks like Rausis, but is not sure,” Neiksans told the website Chess24. “I said: ‘That’s hardly possible.’ I looked from afar but couldn’t tell as he was avoiding everybody. When the third round was about to start, I decided to investigate and came closer.

“And there he was, Rausis in person, hiding behind a mask and additionally [carrying] a crutch. I immediately established eye contact and asked directly: ‘What are you doing here?’ ”

Rausis had entered the tournament under the name Isa Kasimi, which he said was his way of trying to escape the photograph of him cheating that appears every time anyone searched for his old name.

Neiksans, who went on to win the tournament, said that he was shown what he thought was a driver’s licence under a new name, but did not know where it had been issued. Rausis was not breaching his ban because the tournament was not organised by the World Chess Federation, but his return is controversial.

Rausis confirmed his appearance in a post on Facebook. “Yes, I changed my name a year ago to get away from toilet photos posted everywhere, but I didn’t hide the new name [and] everyone was aware of it.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/n...move-gkcxxh9vt

(This may be behind a paywall).

[Frank Dixon]

Cheating at chess can take many forms. I was involved as an arbiter / organizer / CFC Governor in a case several years ago, where I believed, by examining the CFC's online cross tables, that a certain player was creating fake tournaments, with fake players (who had had CFC memberships paid for them, by the player under investigation, as it turned out), then submitting those for rating by the CFC, with an aim to increase that player's rating. I filed a formal complaint, worked with CFC Executive member Dr. Dilip Panjwani, also a Kingston resident at the time, to investigate this, and was proven correct.

Respectfully submitted,
Frank Dixon
NTD, Kingston

[Alex Starks]

Chess's cheating crisis: 'paranoia has become the culture'

[Kerry Liles]

Audio presentation about cheating in chess ...

BBC audio: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cswk3t

(about 9 minutes... includes discussion with chess.com representative about how they look for cheating and at the end asserts that Carlsen is the greatest of all time (GOAT) using similar analysis)

[Wayne Komer]

Cheating in Chess

October 21, 2020

From The Guardian

Chess’s cheating crisis: ‘paranoia has become the culture’

By Archie Bland

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...me-the-culture

In one chess tournament, five of the top six were disqualified for cheating. In another, the doting parents of 10-year-old competitors furiously rejected evidence that their darlings were playing at the level of the world No 1. And in a third, an Armenian grandmaster booted out for suspicious play accused his opponent of “doing pipi in his Pampers”.

These incidents may sound extreme but they are not isolated – and they have all taken place online since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chess has enjoyed a huge boom in internet play this year as in-person events have moved online and people stuck at home have sought new hobbies. But with that has come a significant new problem: a rise in the use of powerful chess calculators to cheat on a scale reminiscent of the scandals that have dogged cycling and athletics. One leading ‘chess detective’ said that the pandemic was “without doubt creating a crisis”.

“The pandemic has brought me as much work in a single day as I have had in a year previously,” said Prof Kenneth Regan, an international chess master and computer scientist whose model is relied on by the sport’s governing body, Fide, to detect suspicious patterns of play. “It has ruined my sabbatical.”

FIDE's general director, Emil Sutovsky has also suggested eye-tracking programs may be a way to raise a red flag if a player appears to be looking away with suspicious frequency.

Chess.com, the world’s biggest site for online play, said it had seen 12 million new users this year, against 6.5 million last year. The cheating rate has jumped from between 5,000 and 6,000 players banned each month last year to a high of almost 17,000 in August.

Gerard Le-Marechal, the head of the site’s fair play team, said he had brought in three new members of staff to deal with the problem. “I think it’s to do with people being cooped up. It’s just so easy to do, so alluring, and it’s without doubt creating a crisis.”

[Vlad Drkulec]

This week, I signed a non-disclosure agreement with chess.com. This past Monday, I spent an hour and a half on a Zoom call talking with chess.com founder and CEO Eric Allebest and IM Danny Rensch about their efforts to ensure that fair play prevails on chess.com. We were joined on the call by their lawyer and one of their math and statistics experts who has been working on this for some years. I will not identify the other two gentlemen as I am not sure whether their identities might be considered something that should remain confidential. We discussed their methodology. We are going to have further discussions. I did discuss some of the challenges that the CFC was facing in the situation where there have been account closures. They did clear up some things.

I have been spending way too much time in the wake of account closures and allegations of cheating looking at the games of players caught up in these closures.

We are navigating a legal minefield.

Much like the USCF we are concerned about due process rights for those who are accused.

Whatever the outcome of various cases, the CFC will have to learn to embrace online chess and we will have to play an important role in ensuring that the principles of fair play and due process are observed particularly where CFC ratings are on the line.

[Frank Dixon]

Sincere thanks to President Vlad for his efforts in this very important area!

[Aris Marghetis]

Sincere thanks to President Vlad for his efforts in this very important area!

I echo that Frank. I can confirm that Vlad has been spending incredible amounts of time working through such cases.

[Francis Rodriguez]

Wayne Komer[/B]
Armenian Grandmaster Tigran Petrosian, who played for the Armenian Eagles, the team
that had won the finals and the tournament, had used computer assistance in the final.
...............................................................
This is a whole new twist on Iron Tigran.

Ref. the very first post in this thread (pg 1), and this post -
"Ironic" isn't it?

[Wayne Komer]

Cheating at Chess

October 29, 2020

From chess24:

17-year-old European Chess Champion gets 2-year ban for cheating

Patrycja Waszczuk, the reigning Polish U18 Girls Champion and 2019 European U16 Girls Champion, has been disqualified for two years after allegedly being caught using a mobile phone in a toilet during Round 4 of the Ustroń Chess Festival on August 16th this year. Patrycja played the adult Polish Women’s Chess Championship a week earlier, with Klaudia Kulon and Monika Soćko saying they were reduced to tears after playing the youngest opponent in the field. Her father claims a smear campaign and has appealed, describing the evidence as circumstantial.

The main findings of the enquiry:

1 Miss Patrycja W… lied to the arbiters: IA (International Arbiter – the highest international arbiter class) … in the presence of IA … and the Head of the Silesian Chess Federation Mr … about possessing electronic devices.

2 She used a telephone in the toilet, which was confirmed by the report of an eye witness Ms …

3 She admitted she had another telephone, admitting that twice, which was confirmed by witnesses: IA … and IA …

4 She refused to show her bag, which was confirmed by the testimony of witnesses: IA … … and the Head of the Silesian Chess Federation, Mr …

5 She tried to leave the playing hall, which was confirmed by the testimony of witnesses: IA … …

6 She tried to hide the telephone in the playing hall, which was confirmed by a statement from witness Ms …

7 She used the telephone during other events, which was confirmed by the testimony of a witness - coach of the women’s national team, GM …

8 An analysis of moves made by the accused shows the use of a computer program, which was confirmed by testimony from the Coach of the Women’s National Team …

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/17-...n-for-cheating

[Amit R]

The comments by the opponents are rather poignant :-(

Cheating at Chess

October 29, 2020

From chess24:

17-year-old European Chess Champion gets 2-year ban for cheating

Patrycja Waszczuk, the reigning Polish U18 Girls Champion and 2019 European U16 Girls Champion, has been disqualified for two years after allegedly being caught using a mobile phone in a toilet during Round 4 of the Ustroń Chess Festival on August 16th this year. Patrycja played the adult Polish Women’s Chess Championship a week earlier, with Klaudia Kulon and Monika Soćko saying they were reduced to tears after playing the youngest opponent in the field. Her father claims a smear campaign and has appealed, describing the evidence as circumstantial.

The main findings of the enquiry:

1 Miss Patrycja W… lied to the arbiters: IA (International Arbiter – the highest international arbiter class) … in the presence of IA … and the Head of the Silesian Chess Federation Mr … about possessing electronic devices.

2 She used a telephone in the toilet, which was confirmed by the report of an eye witness Ms …

3 She admitted she had another telephone, admitting that twice, which was confirmed by witnesses: IA … and IA …

4 She refused to show her bag, which was confirmed by the testimony of witnesses: IA … … and the Head of the Silesian Chess Federation, Mr …

5 She tried to leave the playing hall, which was confirmed by the testimony of witnesses: IA … …

6 She tried to hide the telephone in the playing hall, which was confirmed by a statement from witness Ms …

7 She used the telephone during other events, which was confirmed by the testimony of a witness - coach of the women’s national team, GM …

8 An analysis of moves made by the accused shows the use of a computer program, which was confirmed by testimony from the Coach of the Women’s National Team …

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/17-...n-for-cheating

[Kerry Liles]

The situation with the Polish girl being banned for 2 years is quite dismal on many levels. After reading the report on chess24.com it seems to me that mentions of the "2nd phone" may have simply been the presence of a power bank - not a phone. To me this all seems like a lot of inferences (assuming the facts are as given in that article). Opposite the assumptions of cheating is the fact that she was unable to win an apparently simple ending while at the board and thereby giving up the only draw in a 8.5 / 9 tournament result. I do not see a proper investigation - if such a thing is even possible...

By the way, allowing players to *have* a cell phone provided it is switched off and in a separate bag (which may or may not accompany them to the washroom?) is a recipe for disaster.
I don't know who dreams up the rules like this, but I have to question their expertise.

It is a right mess.