Reflections On Cheating: What Makes A Chess Player Do It?

One of the biggest polemics in the chess world in recent years has been the indirect accusation, initiated mainly by Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, that Hans Niemann might possibly cheat during live games on the board. Although Niemann had been banned from Chess.com a few years earlier for violating Fair Play in online games, it is important to say that nothing has been proven against him recently and that the situation between the parties has apparently been resolved.

In recent days Vladimir Kramnik has also posted quite often about the possibility that Hikaru Nakamura cheats in online chess, although so far there seem to be only statistics without any kind of concrete evidence.

Last month, during the Qatar Chess Open, Carlsen again mentioned that the use of a watch by one of his opponents and the fact that many people were walking around the hall with smartphones might have affected his concentration. Although the time at which he brought up the subject, immediately after a defeat, was very inappropriate, and I am convinced that his opponent played perfectly fair in that game, I still believe he is right in mentioning that the anti-cheating measures must be taken more seriously, especially in high-level tournaments.

As GM Vachier-Lagrave wisely said, this is important not only to deter potential cheaters but also to prevent people from doubting every great performance and giving less merit to players' brilliance because of the remote possibility that it was not done honestly.

However, it is not my intention to discuss these specific cases or to investigate any player. Who am I to do that? I just would like to use these facts to bring here some reflections about cheating and what are, from my point of view, the possible factors that lead a chess player, professional or amateur, online or at the board, to do it and in some cases to risk his career and his honor.

In contrast to the case of Hans Niemann, there are some situations that have been proven, and where the player has even lost his FIDE title. Perhaps the most famous is (former) GM Igor Rausis, who was caught during the Strasbourg Open in 2019 and obviously had his GM title revoked.

Igor Rausis was proven to have cheated in classic live matches. He admitted his guilt and had his title revoked. In the case of Hans Niemann, there was never any concrete evidence, and it seems to have been an unfair accusation, despite his history of online cheating.

Probably everyone reading this has already played against a cheater on this site, and we all know how frustrating that can be. Concentrating and focusing on the game, pushing yourself to find the best moves that you are capable of making, only to find out a few minutes, hours, or days later that you never had a chance and that the "person" making the moves was actually not human but a robot.

For me, it's a feeling of powerlessness and injustice, like being robbed, and I can't even feel anger, but actually only pity for their stupid decision. It is understandable that many beginners even feel unmotivated about chess after going through such a situation, which affects not only their experience but actually the popularity of the game, something that none of us, lovers of chess, wish to happen.

Again, I apologize for the long introduction. As usual, I will first list the main things that I think lead someone to do this and then open the reflection to every topic. Obviously, they are not separate and are actually all interrelated, confusing, and sometimes mixed up, but I will try to clarify what I mean specifically with each of them:

• Competitiveness
• Fragile ego
• Self-satisfaction
• Ambition / Frustration
• An honest desire to improve (very rare)

1)      Competitiveness

The first is perhaps the simplest: humans are competitive. We usually have a desire to be better than someone else in our daily activities. I am not a biologist or anthropologist to explain where it comes from or the reasons that make us act this way, but we cannot deny that it is a fact. Some are more, some are less, but everyone is, to some degree.

This is especially true if it is something the person values. Of course, if someone has never played chess in his life, there will be no problem with losing, and the resulting feeling will be completely neutral. But as soon as you begin to enjoy a game or activity and want to become good at it, the desire to outdo others becomes stronger.

I personally believe that a strong competitive streak can easily lead someone to use illegal means to gain an advantage in a game. I also think that those who are mainly driven by pure competitiveness will not be the classic cheaters who use an engine for every move throughout the game, but rather those who somehow find a way to identify the best move in critical positions. So, the "I won" feeling is still there because they made many of the moves themselves, and their mind ignores the fact that the deciding factor was still illegal help.

Competitiveness is also probably the most important point when we talk about cheating between professional players, whose prize money and career depend on their results. In the case of amateur players, it does not explain everything by itself, but we cannot fail to mention, considering it is maybe the main root of all the upcoming reasons I will list.

2)      Fragile ego

Well, ego is probably the strongest explanation and the first thing that comes to mind for most of you reading this. Certainly, it plays a very important role when you think about the reasons that lead someone to cheat. Some people are very proud of themselves and seem to have a hard time dealing with the fact that they can somehow be worse than someone else at a certain activity.

Chess, being a game of the mind, messes with the ego a lot, probably much more than other physical sports, and therefore the feeling of losing and being outplayed is too strong for many players, who prefer to keep enjoying the game, but only the good part of it, the pleasant feeling of winning and having the false impression that they are the best.

It is easy to say, but not so easy to apply in reality, that winning or losing a game of chess says nothing about you as a human being. You have no idea who is on the other side of the table or the screen. It could be someone who has had much more time to practice than you, or someone who has been playing for much longer. It could also be a "smurf", someone who actually has much more skill and understanding of the game than their ELO suggests. Or who knows... it could be a cheater.

Whoever is on the other side, it is your duty to play fair against them and make the moves that you are honestly capable of making. After all, it is still just a game. While I understand the bad feeling of losing, and I myself am not a great example of how to deal with defeat, cheating as a way to redeem yourself is out of the question. Breathe, think rationally, and stop playing for at least a few hours if it is not healthy for you, but please do not let your ego ruin your own and others' experience with the game.

3)      Self-satisfaction

Now you may ask, what is the big difference between the last topic and this one? At first glance, they seem to be the same thing, but as I said, all my points are interrelated and can sometimes be confused and mixed up. What I mean by a fragile ego is a person who does not accept losing, and what I mean by self-satisfaction is almost the opposite, where the person has a strong urge to win, if that makes any sense… Maybe you can help me find a better word in the comments section.

In order to better explain, perhaps I could just change the name of this topic to "trolling". Being complacent does not necessarily mean that the player will not accept losing if trying to play fair. They may even be able to handle it well. But at the same time, they are the kind of person who enjoys winning, feeling superior, and engaging in the famous "trash talk" even against people they are not friends with and have no intimacy with, which I strongly condemn.

The simple pleasure of making someone else angry, uncomfortable, or upset, for no rational reason at all, is what I think drives this type of person to cheat. They do not just want to win for themselves, but to see their opponent lose, and that is what activates the pleasure in their mind. As a pattern, they will usually be the ones who always send an inappropriate trolling message after or even during the game. This is actually a strong indication that they are not playing 100% honestly, as every chess player knows that no game is won just because you have a piece or a pawn up. Such strong self-confidence when the game is far from over always makes me suspicious.

Maybe they like to feel superior or just be despicable people because it makes them feel better about themselves and get rid of their own personal frustrations, at least for a few minutes. At the same time, I think this is the most difficult of the five topics to fight against, because people who are like this probably do not care much about ethics and honesty in any of their daily life situations.

4)      Ambition / Frustration

Especially when we talk about amateur players, we must keep in mind that without full-time dedication and hours of study and training, we will never be able to reach the level of the Grandmasters and professional players. At some point, which will be higher for some and lower for others, your level of play will stop improving, or at least it will take much longer than before and will be harder to notice.

The frustration of realizing that you are stuck at a certain level of play and cannot improve your game, or at least not as fast as you would like, can also cause someone to lose their mind and turn to illegal means to help themselves. Such people may not be intentionally dishonest, but simply unhappy with themselves for not being as good as they thought they could be, or wanted to be... and therefore pretend to themselves to be still capable of playing better than they actually are.

Like in the first topic, I think this kind of cheater will not cheat on every single move from the beginning, but only at certain moments of the game, having the half impression that they are playing by themselves and maybe thinking "Ok, it was not completely honest, but I played most of the game, it was still a deserved win... I am sure I could have found that move!" and unconsciously ignoring the fact that this is simply not true.

Accepting that chess is a hobby for us and that you don't have to play like a GM to have fun is very important. The strangest thing is that I don't see people who are frustrated because they don't play football like Messi or basketball like Jordan… and continue to play with their friends to have fun. But just because chess is a mental game, they somehow have the impression that they could and should be as good as the best in the world, not realizing that this is something you can only achieve if you are a professional.

5)      An honest desire to improve (very rare)

Although I think this reason is the least common of all the others I listed, I feel it should be mentioned, since I truly believe there are players who cheat because they honestly want to see the computer's reaction to each game situation, and try to learn how to play better and understand more about the game.

If this is really the case, it is the less complicated one to be "cured". Basically, I think there are two things that need to be pointed out in order for the person to understand that this is not the right way to improve.

The first is that the way engines play is very different from the way humans play. No matter how hard you try to play like a computer, there will always be moments when the move makes absolutely no sense to a normal human being, and the explanation for that will only be understood many moves later by pure objective calculation that no one can see.

Second, this method simply does not work, or at least not as well as many others that can be used. Watching game analyses on YouTube, reading chess books, analyzing classic games, practicing endgames, solving tactical puzzles, and so on. All these factors will be a thousand times more effective than playing with the help of an engine to find the best move.

In fact, this behavior will make you take even longer to improve and will hinder your learning. So, if this is honestly the only reason why you are cheating, please keep in mind that it is by far a very bad way to learn. Computer analysis is great and should be used, but only after the game or after you have already tried your best to find the best move in each position, either from a real game or a puzzle. After that, checking it with an engine and trying to understand why you were right or wrong is the correct way to use technology to your advantage and to improve your level and understanding of chess.

Conclusion:

Real legends don’t cheat.

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Naturally, these factors are not isolated, and it is necessary that at least two of them, or probably more, are present at the same time to make a cheater. This is, of course, very sad, as they are not only hurting themselves, but actually everyone they play with, and ruining the experience for so many people, resulting in a waste of time for both parties and absolutely no benefit.

Despite this, and obviously, there is the ethical factor that it is simply something wrong to do because you break the confidence of the opponents who think they are playing someone who uses as many resources as they do.

So how do you avoid it? Well, I think it is important to look at the problem rationally and try your best to think about what you are really getting out of it. Is this feeling of momentary (and false) satisfaction worth it, and does it make sense? I know that sometimes the desire to win is very strong, but just as we control ourselves in various everyday situations, whether for fear of punishment or for our internal morale, we must do the same in the virtual and chess world, regardless of whether there will be consequences or not, but for our own clear conscience.

Do you eat pizza and chocolate every day just because it tastes good? Do you attack and abuse a woman on the street just because you think she is pretty? Do you steal money from people who have more than you just because you want to buy cool stuff for yourself? If not, why do you do it when you play an online game? Keep being the good person you are. It doesn't matter if other people are watching, or if you get punished or not.

Of course, there is the possible consequence of having your account closed, but let's agree that it's not so difficult to open another one, and also that the site has no way of detecting all cheaters in real time and banning them almost like a production line. While these measures are extremely necessary and important, they do not guarantee that it will not happen.

That's why I decided to post this reflection and try to clarify at least a little what I think is the state of mind of someone who might have already done this or thought about it. Who knows, I might even send the link to this text to the next cheater I play here on Chess.com and hope that it will change his mind, although I honestly think that's very unlikely, unfortunately.

What do you think? What other factors would you add that you think influence it? Have you ever played against a cheater here? I think so. And have you ever felt the urge to cheat? How do you control yourself to avoid the temptation? Please let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and thanks to my friend @Victor_Stepko_IV for suggesting the topic. I hope this was helpful!