Alleged Chess Cheating

[liam stephens]

Press Report:

According to the French federation, while international grand master Sebastien Feller, 19, was involved in a game, Cyril Marzolo followed developments over the internet and used computer software to establish the best next move. The answer was then sent by means of a coded text message to the third member of the team, Arnaud Hauchard.

The third member would then sit himself at a particular table in the competition hall. Each table represented an agreed square on the chess board. This, according to French media reports, was the most delicate part of the operation.

The alleged strategy was discovered by French chess federation Vice President Joanna Pomian, who spotted a text message on the mobile phone of one of the three players while the French team was involved in a game.

[Danny_Alvarez]

Press Report:

According to the French federation, while international grand master Sebastien Feller, 19, was involved in a game, Cyril Marzolo followed developments over the internet and used computer software to establish the best next move. The answer was then sent by means of a coded text message to the third member of the team, Arnaud Hauchard.

The third member would then sit himself at a particular table in the competition hall. Each table represented an agreed square on the chess board. This, according to French media reports, was the most delicate part of the operation.

The alleged strategy was discovered by French chess federation Vice President Joanna Pomian, who spotted a text message on the mobile phone of one of the three players while the French team was involved in a game.

what competition was this at?
i hope they get what they deserve !!!

[liam stephens]

French chess hit by Russia olympiad 'cheating' scandal.

The three players deny the allegations and could now face court proceedings.

The French chess federation has suspended three top players for violating sporting ethics at a chess olympiad in Siberia last September.

The trio are alleged to have used an elaborate scheme involving text messages and computer software to help beat opponents at Khanty-Mansiysk.

Federation head Laurent Verat said it was the first case of its kind.

(Report on BBC News)

[Ingo_Zachos]

Here is a more detailed coverage:
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7094

Here is also an old article about the history of cheating,ie. past cases and future possibilities:
http://www.chessbase.com/columns/column.asp?pid=190
Note that the incident involving Fischer in 1970 are just an allegation, and not proven, as chessbase seems to suggest, but cheating by calling moves or fixing results was already an issue some decades ago, long before Fischer was born.

Note that Mr. Allwermann, which case is reviewed there as well, was finally banned by the DSB, the German chess federation, but not convicted in a German court, as the judges could see no apparent reason why games with much less mistakes in the given event compared to a much higer rate of mistakes in events before and after it, could prove anything, or that buying the equipment and having it in a hotel room nearby proves that it was used to cheat.
Needless to say that the judges were not chess players.

Other players (among them Grandmasters) actually have been caught in the meantime, some even stripped off their titles, and convicted by criminal courts.

And we all should know is that during the match Kramnik-Topalov, Elista, 2006, Topalov actually openly accused Kramnik of cheating:
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3373

In my mind, the games in question actually show very bad play of Kramnik as well, who could have lost a few games he won, and some big fat blunders by Topalov, and that is clear evidence that there was no cheat.
That as an example of how somebody can be wrongly accused.

Needless to say that Kramnik, although persumed innocent, was punished and lost most of his advantage after this game, as he was embarrassed, but still won the match by a hair.

Also, some other players later accused Topalov in turn of being a cheater:
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3644

As you can see the method they were assuming resemble the one Feller is accused of.
But ppl. Feller has good chances of getting through with it in a court, as the evidence is based on presumably illegally attained sms messages and emails.
Feller even claims that evidence is fabricated and faked.

No matter what the truth is, we have to face that cheating is possible.

I would not recommend inspections at the door, but in case of suspect the arbiter can do inspections or suspervise a player, and not only at the door, which makes this method more discrete, but also more effectively.

Also all electronic devices are banned under the current rules, as is , of course, telling moves an attempt to cheat by the player/spectator who told the move, who must be sanctioned, and by a player who asked for a move to be told to him/her.

I assume that all these techniques can be applied for checkers/draughts as well, but to say it clearly they are cheats.
Noting else.

And the arbiters should be aware of how it is done, and what is possible and may look for hidden messages, electronic devices, hidden literature, conspirative talks etc.

However, most players are not cheating, and we should treat players as presumed inncocent, as long as we don't know the opposite.


Greetinx from sunny Dortmund,

Ingo Zachos

[Alex_Moiseyev]

Stupidly done by France players. We have to find a way where conspiracy cannot be breaken and there is no way to identify cheating. Only after then we can move ahead with actions and testing.

Alex

[liam stephens]

FARADAY CAGES

Here is one of the proposals made to deal with the situation:

It has been suggested that future matches must be held in Faraday cages (i.e. that the playing site would be shielded from all radio signals passing in or out by wire mesh covering the walls, floor and ceiling).

[Jay H]

Wow....these guys really are geniuses....ehh???

Jay "always on the square" Hinnershitz

[Danny_Alvarez]

It would be much better if they used their creative genius for something good instead of that