Chess cheating drama: what are the different ways to cheat in chess?

he’s prepared to play “naked” in order to prove his innocence while also admitting he has cheated in the past as a 12-year-old and 16-year-old.

I’ve withdrawn from the tournament. I’ve always enjoyed playing in the @STLChessClub, and hope to be back in the future https://t.co/YFSpl8er3u

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) September 5, 2022

Players speaking out against Niemann — without any real proof — saw him being uninvited from Chess.com’s global chess championship and also being removed from their website.

GM @HansMokeNiemann responds to all allegations in an absolute must-watch interview 🔥 #SinquefieldCup #GrandChessTour

First, on the accent (1/10): pic.twitter.com/0JltM4yWxF

— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) September 7, 2022

While Niemann’s case will take some time to die down, cheating/colluding has never been alien to chess. The sport has a long history of it and it kind of amplified with the advent of online chess.

Cheating over-the-board

Before tournaments came up with stringent rules to counter cheating in over-the-board chess tournaments, an effective method of cheating was to hide a device on one’s person. Whether it was hiding chess engines in one’s shoes or other apparel, it was done.

One of the easiest methods of cheating is to receive visible assistance. Whether it’s a coach, someone from the family, or a friend, the person stands behind different boards to communicate moves through non-verbal cues.

It’s also possible to develop an inconspicuous code to transmit moves.

A very creative way of cheating was used by a former mayor of the northern town of Buccinasco, near Milan. Loris Cereda was subsequently banned for allegedly using dark glasses that had been fitted with a hidden micro camera at three tournament games. The glasses sent live images of his opponent’s moves to a powerful chess software programme that then dictated through a secret earpiece the correct counter-move to make.

Another issue is players using bathroom breaks in between moves. While bathroom breaks cannot be limited, there have been instances of players receiving assistance while on these breaks.

In over-the-board games, though cheating does occur, the fact that players sit face to face makes it much easier for an arbiter to detect any sort of hanky-panky.

Collusion, a form of cheating

Over the years, there have been many accusations of collusion, either of players deliberately losing, or of players agreeing to draws to help both players in a tournament.

During the Cold War, Soviet players were accused of colluding with each other by setting up easy draws with each other so that they could focus their attention and preparation on matches against non-Soviet players, or outright resignations if a favored player played a lesser player. The most famous alleged instance was at the 1962 Candidates Tournament for the 1963 World Chess Championship, where the three top-finishing Soviet players finished with draws in all their matches against each other.

Cheating in online chess

The most common way of cheating while playing online is using a chess engine. Programmes, which power chess engines, can help a player play accurately and quickly.

What can also happen is that players can also get a prompt from others on an electronic device. It’s tough to detect cheating online as the game is being played over a screen.

Ways of countering cheating in online chess

Since cheating in online chess is becoming a real menace, different tournaments have come up with effective ways of countering it. Players are asked to go into screen sharing mode during play, which would be viewed by the chief arbiter. Tournaments also mandate that webcam have to be focused on each player and additional recording cameras at different angles were to be operational. Players aren’t allowed to keep any other software open on the computer.