Can you pass Kramnik's anti-cheating test?

For several months now, former world champion Vladimir Kramnik has been campaigning against cheating by "accusing" dozens of top chess players. His "accusations" are based on a series of parameters from which he compiles statistics and deduces whether a player has been able to use the engine or not. Do you think you can pass his test and prove that you are not a cheater?

WARNING: this test has no scientific validity, it is just a little criticism of the system Kramnik uses to make you have a good time.

Table of content

• Test
• Results
• Reflections

Test

To begin, you must choose one of your recent victories. It is preferable to play at the slowest possible speed so that the result is more reliable, but I will not judge you for being addicted to bullet chess.

Now that you have the game, we will begin the interrogation. I will leave you alone with Kramnik.

Kramnik: Welcome, let's start the test to find out if you are a cheater or not. I'm going to ask you a series of questions and, depending on the score you get, I'll tell you your results. Are you ready? I don't care, let's start.

1. What was your accuracy in the game?

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2. How many inaccuracies, mistakes, serious errors and missed opportunities have you had (add them up)?

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3. How many brilliant, great moves have you played (in total)?

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4.What is the Elo difference between you and your opponent?

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5.Of the last 10 games you played, how many did you win?

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6.What is the difference between your actual Elo rating and your estimated Elo rating in the game?

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7.When did you create your account?

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8.The time it takes you to make each move is always in the range of 0-10 seconds.

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9. If you are playing as White, the engine rating will always be positive, and if you are playing as Black, the engine rating will always be negative.

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10.How many people were around you during the game?

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Results

Kramnik: We've finished the test, it's time for you to know how you did on the basis of your rating.

• 10-16: With this level of play it's impossible for you to have cheated, I would never suspect you. It looks like a child learning to play using your account.
• 17-22: Not bad for an amateur, your level more or less corresponds to your Elo. Be careful not to go over to the dark side.
• 23-28: I'm not quite sure what to make of you. It's possible that you have occasionally used the engine to improve your position, but there are far more important people cheating for me to bother with you.
• 29-35: Your level of play is quite suspicious, I would need to analyse more of your games to be sure, but I will keep an eye on you over the next few days.
• 36-40: I have no doubt that you are a cheater, I will inform the chess.com services to delete your account. It's because of players like you that I spend my days checking the statistics.

Reflections

This little game was just a criticism of the methods used by Kramnik to identify players suspected of cheating. Although it is true that mathematics can help in this task, chess is also a game that depends on many factors that cannot be measured numerically, such as the player's emotions, his physical and mental state, how he has slept... That is why no one should make accusations without sufficient evidence, because it could damage the chess career of many honest players who work and try to improve their level of play every day.

That's all for today's blog! I hope you enjoyed it and see you in the next one. Until then, make your next move brilliant!