A case of cheating in an internet tournament

[M ANSARI]

Unless you have a clear method of confirming that cheating did not occur, then this will continue. And by "continue" I don't mean cheating only ... but rather the accusation that your opponent cheated even if he didn't. How many times have you had someone accuse you of cheating online after you have crushed him? A lot of people will not accept they lost fair and square, and would immediately accuse the opponent of cheating. I am sure it has happened to everyone who has played online chess.

I do agree though that online cheating with computer aid is a PIA. For example I personally no longer play games at longer than 2 0. Even so I find that I tend to open with white as d2 and then f4 simply to avoid someone with a computer playing moves instantly. But the truth of the matter is that a percentage of people you play against will cheat, and that is just how life is.

[Olivier Deville]

A lot depends on the opponent's rating. If his rating is > 2200, he might not be cheating, though there seems to be reasonable cause for suspicion. I personally found g5 to be a committal move to make. Playing this move fast is suspicious. After that, the Ba6 followed by Bc8 maneuver to stop b3 and gain a tempo on Bf5 is clever, if he played this sequence fast, cheating is likely.

His 26.. Rh5 move looks the most suspicious to me, why go to h5 when e7 for example seems reasonable. 28.. Rf5 is odd as well when the f2 pawn is hanging (why not Nf2). These moves especially if played fast are most unexpected of humans.

I don't believe in the theory of only using a computer to check his moves. There are many games where humans played the top choice of machines. It depends on the difficulty in finding the moves and the nature of the position (quiet vs tactical).

This player has no known rating, and is not in the FIDE list.

I think Rh5 (played a tempo) is the most suspicious of all the moves of this game. It really looks like a computer move. A human player would have gone to e7 or e8 indeed.

If you check the game with other engines (Rybka, Crafty, etc) you won't find exactly the same moves that were played in the game. I think Fruit 2.1 was used because it is embedded in the Winboard for Jaws package.

Olivier

[shiv]

I think Rh5 (played a tempo) is the most suspicious of all the moves of this game. It really looks like a computer move. A human player would have gone to e7 or e8 indeed.

If you check the game with other engines (Rybka, Crafty, etc) you won't find exactly the same moves that were played in the game. I think Fruit 2.1 was used because it is embedded in the Winboard for Jaws package.

Olivier

If Rh5 was played a tempo, then there is no need to check engines on other positions! The likelihood of computer assistance is high then.

[shiv]

I do agree though that online cheating with computer aid is a PIA. For example I personally no longer play games at longer than 2 0. Even so I find that I tend to open with white as d2 and then f4 simply to avoid someone with a computer playing moves instantly. But the truth of the matter is that a percentage of people you play against will cheat, and that is just how life is.

Sadly agree. I know for a fact that at least a few GMs were cheating in an official online tournament qualifier. One of these GMs pointed out that his opponent was cheating as well. Turns out his opponent's moves matched multi core Rybka though his rating was only 1700!

[Olivier Deville]

I do agree though that online cheating with computer aid is a PIA. For example I personally no longer play games at longer than 2 0. Even so I find that I tend to open with white as d2 and then f4 simply to avoid someone with a computer playing moves instantly. But the truth of the matter is that a percentage of people you play against will cheat, and that is just how life is.

Sadly agree. I know for a fact that at least a few GMs were cheating in an official online tournament qualifier. One of these GMs pointed out that his opponent was cheating as well. Turns out his opponent's moves matched multi core Rybka though his rating was only 1700!

Unfortunately, that must be true. Here the context is a little bit different though. The event was meant for blind players who all are of amateur level. It is very unlikely that one of them suddenly starts to play like a GM.

Olivier

[Cubeman]

I give any chess servers a wide berth when they offer incentives to play in online tournys with either prize money or membership extensions.ICC offer alot of these types of tournys so is why I now play on FICS.

[shiv]

I give any chess servers a wide berth when they offer incentives to play in online tournys with either prize money or membership extensions.ICC offer alot of these types of tournys so is why I now play on FICS.

Learned a new expression, thanks! Agreed on the difficulty in playing in such events.

[shiv]

Unfortunately, that must be true. Here the context is a little bit different though. The event was meant for blind players who all are of amateur level. It is very unlikely that one of them suddenly starts to play like a GM.

Olivier

Or rather plays strong moves so quickly.

Did not realize this was an event for blind players. How do blind players even play internet chess at fast controls? Voice recognition software has never worked for me. I was raised in more than one country and thus don't have a classifiable accent when speaking English making it hard for software. Anyway, do blind players rely on speech recognition software for chess.

How do you answer messages on this forum? Do you use low vision aids? Apologize for the questions, but I have limited knowledge in this domain.

[Dr.Wael Deeb]

I do agree though that online cheating with computer aid is a PIA. For example I personally no longer play games at longer than 2 0. Even so I find that I tend to open with white as d2 and then f4 simply to avoid someone with a computer playing moves instantly. But the truth of the matter is that a percentage of people you play against will cheat, and that is just how life is.

Sadly agree. I know for a fact that at least a few GMs were cheating in an official online tournament qualifier. One of these GMs pointed out that his opponent was cheating as well. Turns out his opponent's moves matched multi core Rybka though his rating was only 1700!

Unfortunately, that must be true. Here the context is a little bit different though. The event was meant for blind players who all are of amateur level. It is very unlikely that one of them suddenly starts to play like a GM.

Olivier

A blind player cheating in an internet tournament using a chess engine to assist him
And I thought I've seen it all regards,
Dr.D

[Olivier Deville]

Unfortunately, that must be true. Here the context is a little bit different though. The event was meant for blind players who all are of amateur level. It is very unlikely that one of them suddenly starts to play like a GM.

Olivier

Or rather plays strong moves so quickly.

Did not realize this was an event for blind players. How do blind players even play internet chess at fast controls? Voice recognition software has never worked for me. I was raised in more than one country and thus don't have a classifiable accent when speaking English making it hard for software. Anyway, do blind players rely on speech recognition software for chess.

How do you answer messages on this forum? Do you use low vision aids? Apologize for the questions, but I have limited knowledge in this domain.

No problem, I'll be glad to answer any questions on the topic.

Blind and visually impaired players use a tactile board : see This is the way I play chess.

Totally blind people have at their disposal tools like Jaws or NVDA to use a computer. Visually impaired people can use magnifiers like ZoomText. I still have a narrow tunnel vision, and can use a computer without any special tool until now.

Internet tournaments for blind people are played on Skype (or Skype-like places). Moves are announced by voice, and a third person is keeping the time.

Olivier