Cheating in chess

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NickFaulks
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by NickFaulks » Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:56 pm

Matt Bridgeman wrote:
Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:50 pm
Are there late middle age Grandmasters out there taking the Tom Cruise (age: 59!) route, supplementing anti-ageing drugs such as testosterone, steroids and growth hormones?
Looking around, not obviously.
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Matt Bridgeman
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by Matt Bridgeman » Sat Jul 17, 2021 5:02 pm

NickFaulks wrote:
Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:56 pm
Matt Bridgeman wrote:
Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:50 pm
Are there late middle age Grandmasters out there taking the Tom Cruise (age: 59!) route, supplementing anti-ageing drugs such as testosterone, steroids and growth hormones?
Looking around, not obviously.
I know what you’re saying, but for middle age men it can often be about maintenance of what they had when they were in their late 30’s say, rather than allowing a natural diminishing of the body’s natural testosterone levels and skeletal muscle, etc. It might not be particularly obvious that they have gone down this route to some extent.

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JustinHorton
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by JustinHorton » Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:57 am

GM Nitzan Steinberg, barred by lichess, insists on his innocence and invites the public to see his games
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by Roger de Coverly » Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:48 am

This appears to be a private group. Perhaps a synopsis of his case could be added for non members.

NickFaulks
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by NickFaulks » Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:00 am

I have presumably joined the group at some point.
Hello everyone, my name is Nitzan Steinberg, I am a GM from Israel (Elo 2537). Last Saturday 17.7.21, I played an online tournament on Lichess named "2nd Late M D Bhagwat Memorial". There were 9 rounds with a time control of 5+2. I took the 5th place and already started playing another tournament, when suddenly my account was kicked out from Lichess and blocked.
I tried to contact Lichess in any possible way (email, twitter, facebook, lichess, discord) until they replied that my account is blocked for cheating, which came as a total shock to me. I made it clear that I didn't use any computer assistance (ever in my life) and asked them to explain the reasons for this act and to restore my account. However, all I received was an automatic and dry message claiming that the case is closed and that they will ignore me from now on.
Anyone who knows me can tell how much I care about the value of sportsmanship in chess- first of all in a respecting behavior, but especially when it comes to Fair-Play. Just in the last two years, I helped catching dozens of violators of fair play rules in online events. Also in this tournament I faced certain "interesting" opponents- for example a player with a Fide rating of 1050 (according to him) who easily achieved a winning position against me before making a draw.
I invite everyone to have a look at the games in the link below. I am more than ready to explain my thinking process and decision making in each one of the games. I am a top supporter of anti-cheating which is very important for the future of chess and online chess. However, banning players without any reason or evidence indicates that the website is too easy on the trigger which is very dangerous. In the last few days I received a lot of support from Chess professionals and colleagues, and was informed that my case is not the first- apparently many other GM's and strong players fell victims to such a witch hunting by Lichess. Needless to say, such a one-sided act can damage a player's reputation and should not be done without proper evidence.
Link of the tournament: https://lichess.org/swiss/QiINaJ9g
My account: nizko33
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JustinHorton
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by JustinHorton » Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:04 am

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:48 am
This appears to be a private group.
Ah OK I thought it was open, maybe it was at some point. Thanks to Nick for stepping in.
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

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Joey Stewart
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by Joey Stewart » Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:15 pm

That's quite surprising to hear lichess banned anyone - I have found that of the big two chess servers they are by far the most slack when it comes to dealing with cheats and certainly cheating cases involving titled players.
Lose one queen and it is a disaster, Lose 1000 queens and it is just a statistic.

Chris Rice
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by Chris Rice » Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:31 pm

From Nigel Short's new book Winning which featured in a FB post by Andrew Burnett.

The first allegation of cheating in the extract regarding playing online chess tournaments is when you are considering your move and suddenly you see pop-up "your opponent proposes a draw". This often happens in a losing position where someone is just trying it on. The repeated use of it would be very annoying I think. I wonder though whether it qualifies as cheating or just unsportsmanlike behaviour? Or are these the same things? This doesn't really bother me as much as someone blundering and then sending you a message proposing a takeback which I don't see should be allowed if the game is rated.

The second claim is something that I think most of us would suspect is going on ie external assistance but when you find out that this has actually happened, in this case, essentially, Nigel was in a handicap game he knew nothing about, it would make anyone very angry. There is really no way to prove such things, as online chess cheaters will always find a way of getting around any rules, so probably best not to take these tournaments seriously or as Nigel suggests, not to play in them at all.

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NickFaulks
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by NickFaulks » Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:44 pm

Does Article 11.5 of the Laws of Chess even apply in an oz.com blitz tournament ( whatever that is )? I'm asking because I don't know.
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Michael Farthing
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by Michael Farthing » Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:55 pm

Only if oz.com says it does. And if oz.com says, for example, that castling is allowed even if the king has previously moved then it is. Chess is now out of patent.

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JustinHorton
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by JustinHorton » Sat Jul 31, 2021 10:26 pm

Chris Rice wrote:
Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:31 pm
From Nigel Short's new book Winning which featured in a FB post by Andrew Burnett.

Image
I'm not seeing anywhere where he names these "well-known grandmasters", which is not the bravest of approaches
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

Stewart Reuben
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by Stewart Reuben » Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:37 pm

The FIDE Laws of Chess used to say they covered ONLY over-the-board chess. I don't know whether that is still true.

NickFaulks
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by NickFaulks » Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:52 pm

Stewart Reuben wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:37 pm
The FIDE Laws of Chess used to say they covered ONLY over-the-board chess. I don't know whether that is still true.
Stewart, you are as ever too modest. I am sure you are aware that the very first clause in the current Laws is

"INTRODUCTION

FIDE Laws of Chess cover over-the-board play."

This would not prevent the aforementioned oz.com from stating that some of the Laws, for instance 11.5, applied to their events.
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Gerard Killoran
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by Gerard Killoran » Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:26 pm

JustinHorton wrote:
Sat Jul 31, 2021 10:26 pm


I'm not seeing anywhere where he names these "well-known grandmasters", which is not the bravest of approaches
I'm sure Nigel will name them, once they're dead.

Nick Burrows
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Re: Cheating in chess

Post by Nick Burrows » Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:53 am

I'm playing a guy in some daily games on chess.com. He has a rating of 2150. His blitz rating is 1450 from 1500 games. Is this rating disparity plausible?

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