Chess and Pension Fraud - allegation

[Neil Graham]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-l ... e-67066314 Rather more than an allegation in this case.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Was active in Cumbrian chess a few years ago, and I played him a few times.

Wondered where he had vanished to, and now I know

(I used to be friendly with Glenn House as well, certainly would never have suspected him of anything like what has happened back then)

[Kevin Thurlow]

Didn't Robin Moss have a similar problem some years ago?

[Brendan O'Gorman]

Joint winner of Cotswold Open in 2019

https://brendanogorman.smugmug.com/Ches ... -hcrHBLS/A

[Christopher Kreuzer]

To be clear, this is FM Robin Moss, rating details here:

https://www.ecfrating.org.uk/v2/new/pla ... de=115892C
https://ratings.fide.com/profile/401331

Registered as POL on the FIDE website.

The BBC article says:

The main defendant, formerly from Leicestershire but now of Skórzewo, Poznan, Poland.

And earlier in the article:

[Moss] was sentenced in his absence to 10 years in prison on Monday. An international arrest warrant has been issued through Interpol, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said.

So he is presumably in Poland, and will either turn himself in, or be arrested in Poland?

It sounds like his wife is still in this country and was present at the sentencing (she was one of three defendants).

EDIT: Adding the transfer date and fee (wonder who paid that 500 Euros?) for the transfer to POL:

401331 Moss, Robin B W POL ENG 2022-01-12 2022-01-11
Last FIDE event: no participation in FIDE events under ENG flag
Citizenship UK
Date of eligibility
to participate in the FIDE events under the new flag 2022-01-13
Transfer fee Euro 500
Date starting from which a player
can represent the new federation fee free 2022-05-25

EDIT 2: I think I misunderstood the 500 Euros bit above. I think that was what would need to be paid to start playing for POL immediately, but there is no indication on the FIDE site (as far as I am aware) whether such transfer fees have been paid or not?

[Matt Bridgeman]

.

[Roger Lancaster]

Well, let's see if international arrest warrants are any more effective today in Poland than they were a little while back in Amsterdam.

[Roger de Coverly]

Didn't Robin Moss have a similar problem some years ago?

A Google search found this
https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/ne ... der-alert/

Same individual? Is the cheque-mate pun a hint?

[Matt Mackenzie]

I do believe he was formerly based in those parts, indeed a member of Hastings Chess Club for several years. So almost certainly yes.

[Neil Graham]

His ECF rating card makes interesting reading. He played for a local club in the Notts League for a season; after his draw (with me) in May 2013 he disappears. I signed him up for my 4NCL side for season 2013/14 but although he promised to play he invariably cried off at the last minute (in Poland or important dinner engagement etc). It looked good having a FM in my squad - might have scared the opposition had he actually appeared.

On his reappearance in 2018 his rating looks like a broadcast for the Green Party - not a red result in sight. I see that he played in the Irish Senior Championships in both 2019 & 2020 (when he was 1st=) - Tim Harding played in the latter so may inform us what the qualification criteria were.

[IM Jack Rudd]

Rated 2266? He's probably not going to be playing official FIDE events, so the transfer fee is unlikely to be relevant.

[Joey Stewart]

I always feel that Interpol warrants would be more effective if there was a cash reward for capture - plenty of hard up chess players would suddenly find an enthusiasm for justice if they were being paid for their efforts.

[Matt Bridgeman]

.

[Tim Harding]

Was active in Cumbrian chess a few years ago, and I played him a few times.

Wondered where he had vanished to, and now I know

If you know where Robin Moss is, I hope you are telling Interpol so that he can be arrested...

[Tim Harding]

...I see that he played in the Irish Senior Championships in both 2019 & 2020 (when he was 1st=) - Tim Harding played in the latter so may inform us what the qualification criteria were.

The Irish Senior Championships are open to anyone but only IRL-registered players can win the titles.

In 2019 Moss was doing quite well (just dropped half a point to former champion Tony Doyle) until he messed up in rather amusing fashion:

[Event "Irish 50+/65+ Ch (Hogarty Mem)"] [Site "Talbot Hotel, Dublin"] [Date "2019.01.05"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Moss, Robin"] [Black "Cafolla, Peter"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2289"] [BlackElo "1953"] [Annotator "Harding,Tim"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2019.01.02"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "IRL"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 h6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 a6 9. Nc3 Nd4 10. Ne4 Qa5+ 11. c3 Qxd5 12. Ng3 Bc5 13. cxd4 Bxd4 14. Be3 Qa5+ 15. Qd2 Qxd2+ 16. Kxd2 Bxb2 17. Rb1 Ba3 18. Bc4 d6 19. Rb3 Bc5 20. Bd5 f5 21. Bxc5 dxc5 22. Rc1 $18 h5 {[#]} 23. Bxb7 $4 Bxb7 24. Rxb7 O-O-O+ 0-1

In 2020 it was a different matter; maybe he was desperate to win the prize money. In the later rounds, when he met stronger opponents, he had the habit of disappearing (to the toilets?) for long periods between moves and at least two of the people he beat (including me) are convinced he was cheating, probably by the Igors Rausis method.
I spoke to the arbiter but he was unwilling to take any action. I found it impossible to concentrate under the circumstances and lost badly.

So it is good to see it proved that he was a wrong 'un and I hope he will be swiftly caught and jailed, and that he won't be seen in any future chess events.