British Championship Congress 2022

[Richard Bates]

EDIT: deleted to extract myself from discussion.

[Ian Thompson]

The arbiter may permit phones into the tournament hall but these should be switched off and stored as required. Therefore the pre-game scan could lead to a person being disqualified for having a 'live' phone in their pocket.

Even if no games are in progress in any event in the playing venue?

If the answer is yes, what does that say about Chessable putting signs up in the playing room at a recent ECF event inviting players to scan a QR code using their mobile phone?

[Geoff Chandler]

Good point Ian,

These mobile and OR code things are a curse. When I recently booked tickets for Tim Vine the girl wanted
me to scan them onto my mobile. I showed it to her, it's 15 years old and just a phone, nothing else.
(it's one of those Star Trek look-a-likes, bright red, small with a flip lid.)
she looked dumfounded, a colleague had to show her how to print off the tickets.

I was reading Leonard's request about the U-18's, 1923 and William Ritson Morry.
(A joke in waiting is all the U-18's are now the best players...it was cancelled to call it the Championship )
Then my mind went back to a time when all these electronic cheating scenarios only appeared in Sci-Fi settings.

These days we have people scanning players, searching toilets and any result against the grade is viewed with suspicion.
I often get pulled up for harking on about the good old days, but you know what? The old days were good.
(and no amazing U-18's. In them days a child prodigy was a child who played chess when they should be asleep in bed.)

[Alex McFarlane]

The playing venue is different from the playing hall. Normally players will be allowed phones in the venue or at least parts of it.

The way that the rule on phones is enforced will vary from event to event. In most top level events (and the British should be a top category event for Fair Play purposes as it is both a national championship and eligible for norms) phones are not allowed and should certainly be switched off before entering. Normally this would only be insisted on just before the start of play, but many players arrive after this and walk into the hall switching their phone off. An arbiter could default them at this point as they are in the tournament hall with an active phone. Under strict rules, anyone with a phone on in the playing hall is in breach. Common sense usually prevails and hence the warnings.

Catching a cheat is not always easy. The rules allow for scans during a round and players going to the toilet should be told to expect to be scanned. Because these can be a distraction they are not always carried out but where there is a strong suspicion that one player is cheating I would expect a small sample to be scanned until the suspect is caught or the doubt is removed. I would not expect, under normal circumstances, players in time trouble to be scanned. Nor would I expect the Fair Play officer to be 'scalp hunting'. Regrettably I know of one such case where a FP Officer boasted of the number of top players he had scanned.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Alex,

'Catching a cheat is not always easy....'

That's encouraging to know.

I'd get caught on day one. You would hear me after coming out of the toilet clutching my
mobile and complaining to everyone that this computer is naff. 'It wants me to sac a Rook!'
(then six other players stand up from their games waving mobiles; 'Here Geoff, try mine!')

A lot wasted effort goes into catching them. A slap on the wrist and see you next week when we can do it all again.

Can you officials not set up a cheat squad that has a black list of those that cannot be named
and just return their entries 'sorry we are full up...'
(not too original an idea, there must be something like that in place already.)

[Graham Borrowdale]

Back to the chess?
All eyes will be on the over 65s this afternoon. Roger will have to play out of his skin to retain the title. In the Championship proper most of the top players are at the top with either 2/2 or 1.5/2, so it will probably be another round before the main contenders start meeting

[IM Jack Rudd]

The trouble with the black list idea is that anyone can become an organizer of an event at a moment's notice, and nobody will necessarily have any idea who has entered a tournament until after it's finished.

(Of course, organizers can and often do maintain their own blacklists.)

[Roger de Coverly]

Roger will have to play out of his skin to retain the title.

I've played and sometimes beaten most of the top half before, but the winner is going to be John Nunn unless he self destructs in a couple of games. .

[Matt Bridgeman]

Hi Alex,

'Catching a cheat is not always easy....'

That's encouraging to know.

I'd get caught on day one. You would hear me after coming out of the toilet clutching my
mobile and complaining to everyone that this computer is naff. 'It wants me to sac a Rook!'
(then six other players stand up from their games waving mobiles; 'Here Geoff, try mine!')

A lot wasted effort goes into catching them. A slap on the wrist and see you next week when we can do it all again.

Can you officials not set up a cheat squad that has a black list of those that cannot be named
and just return their entries 'sorry we are full up...'
(not too original an idea, there must be something like that in place already.)

Why not send a message Will Smith style - a ten year ban from entering the British Championship? After all he did in all likelihood commit a Fraud by attempting to win £240 by cheating.

[Roger Lancaster]

As to players feeling aggrieved at being scanned, I've been scanned at the 4NCL and my reaction was entirely the opposite - pleasure at discovering that anti-cheating measures were actually in place and not merely being threatened. Okay, a during-the-game random scan is slightly distracting, and probably shouldn't occur in time trouble, but I'd be surprised if many players would be upset.

[David Sedgwick]

As to players feeling aggrieved at being scanned, I've been scanned at the 4NCL and my reaction was entirely the opposite - pleasure at discovering that anti-cheating measures were actually in place and not merely being threatened. Okay, a during-the-game random scan is slightly distracting, and probably shouldn't occur in time trouble, but I'd be surprised if many players would be upset.

My experience is different. Random in game scanning is one thing that players really hate. We don't have it in the Grand Chess Tour events,

[Nick Ivell]

At 4NCL I only ever got scanned before a game - no objections to that at all.

[Alex McFarlane]

I would be surprised if there was a need for it in the GCT, David.
Once the initial checks are carried out the players are in a secure area. Further checks are therefore less likely to be needed.

That is not the case at most British events and therefore in game scanning may be a necessary evil. Having said that, an end of game scan of a suspect may be sufficient assuming a sweep of the toilets has been carried out.

[Tim Harding]

Roger will have to play out of his skin to retain the title.

I've played and sometimes beaten most of the top half before, but the winner is going to be John Nunn unless he self destructs in a couple of games. .

Good luck to all competitors but I guess John is warming up for an assault on the World 65+ Championship (having already got a team gold medal). The first two years he was eligible the individual event was not held due to Covid.

In round 1, Black against David Fryer, John essayed a Najdorf but after 6 Rg1 John thought for four and a half minutes. It has continued 6...e6 7 g4 b5 (somewhat unusual) 8 g5 Nfd7 and I think they are now in Keres variation territory but this is not a line in my repertoire. Whatever the online assessment may say, history shows that John tends to win these kind of positions with whatever colour he is playing.

[Nick Ivell]

A Keres in which Rg1 may be redundant (in the Keres ...h6 lines, Rg1 is needed to enforce g5).