Figures of deceit: the history and reality of chess cheating
In recent years, the topic of cheating in the chess community has become so popular that it has led to scandals and disagreements not only at tournaments, but also in the communication between social media users. How come the most intelligent game in the world is associated with fraud? Let’s try to understand in this article.
What cheating is
Simply put, it is a dishonest game to gain an advantage in a match. In an intellectual sport, victory depends solely on mental abilities. Players only need to get a hint to turn the result of the match in their favor.
Why it is possible
● Some competitions are open to spectators to come and hint with gestures or facial expressions.
● There are examples when participants intentionally lose (often to help a friend or teammate achieve norms) or agree to a draw.
● In standard, there is plenty of time for brainwork, and one can use it to make a pause and get advice.
● Modern technologies help to carry microdevices with encrypted clues.
● Not all organizers plan to monitor the actions of participants or to inspect the entrance to detect any devices.
● In online matches, it’s easy to switch to the engine tab that will find the best move or ask for help from artificial intelligence.
There are different ways to get a clue. It depends on the format: whether it is a real board game or an internet match. It’s easier to cheat online, but also possible to do it during offline tournaments.
How it all started
18th century
The most famous example is Mechanical Turk, presented by the Austrian engineer Wolfgang von Kempelen. The machine was supposedly operating itself, although in fact there was a man inside of it. With mirrors and magnets, he saw the opponent’s move and offered a response. When the deception was discovered, the machine did not lose its popularity, and audiences in different countries were still interested in it.
19th century
In 1880, during the 5th US Chess Congress, Preston Ware and James Grundy had agreed to a draw in advance. Grundy decided to break the deal and tried to win. Although we do not know if Ware complained about the behavior of his competitor, this case has become well-known and is still cited as a striking example of deceit. There was even a note in the newspaper:
"For the first time, sport ethics faced such an incident. We believe in the honesty of Ware with regard to his agreement, but condemn such behavior."
20th century
During the 1967 Sousse Interzonal, the Yugoslav grandmaster Milan Matulović made a losing move and took the piece back, saying, "I adjust." (J'adoube) The rule is to say this phrase before adjusting pieces on their square. The arbiter didn’t agree to the complaint of the opponent, and Matulovich got the nickname "J'adoubovic".
The scandal between Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen
In 2022, at the Sinquefield Cup, young American grandmaster Hans Niemann defeated reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in the third round. Nobody could have expected this. Niemann found strong moves in quite difficult positions.
The next day, Carlsen unexpectedly withdrew from competition, hinting in his social networks on the fraud by his competitor. Hans admitted that he had played unfairly in the past at online tournaments, but winning over Magnus was well deserved.
Chess.com conducted its own internal investigation and stated that they had suspicions that Hans might have cheated more often than he admitted. However, no evidence was found in the offline match.
How the rules changed
This headline-making case led the organizers of the top events to take more serious measures.
● Global Championship in Toronto: participants were forbidden to bring mobile phones and smartwatches. At the entrance, they were scanned with anti-cheating gadgets.
● Sinquefield Cup 2022 in Saint Louis: a 15-minute delay was applied to the broadcast to prevent the transmission of clues in real time.
● Introduction of Fair Play standards: FIDE has developed and implemented rules, including procedures to check and investigate suspicions of deception. The special commission established not only monitors violations, but also holds seminars with recommendations for organizers and arbiters.
Is there a future for foul play?
On the one hand, the development of technology in sport is already reflected in different methods of cheating. Devices are smaller, and artificial intelligence is even able to analyze the behavior of opponents.
On the other hand, the latest gadgets can also be aimed at detecting fraud: body scanners, real-time analysis with an engine, predicting the level of certain players, video assistant referee.
Nowadays, dishonesty is more difficult, expensive and risky. Detecting it is one of the main directions today. The most likely future is a constant arms race between those who try to deceive and those who defend fair games.