Cheaters Beware - You Will Be Caught

everyone - cheating happens. this isn't abnormal. the reason i am posting about it right now is so that we make a loud and clear message that cheaters are NOT welcome. but it has been 2 people out of 14,000. relax and have fun!

"cheating happens"

 

Exactly

And though it will never go away, it happens relatively rarely and it's non-fatal.   

you're fine Razboi! unrated doesn't count :)  also, these are the rules:

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- You can NOT use any advice from other players.

- You can NOT use any computers or devices to auto-analyze your specific position, including tablebases, chess engines, etc.

- You CAN use books, magazines, or other articles.

- You CAN use computer databases of games.
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is that clear enough? any questions or clarifications?

 

Disappointing when people cheat / manipulate ratings, but as indicated this is a very insignificant minority in terms of numbers %, but good job done banning them!

Concerning using software during a game, I agree with the two players who wrote that the best we can do is have some faith and that it is up to us to keep the integrity level high.  I personally do not understand why anyone would even consider cheating; what's the point? the cheater doesn't learn anything, his or her rating is meaningless, etc.  Much better to lose and learn then win and cheat.  What's wrong with losing, anyway? We're talking about a relatively difficult game when we discuss chess.  Losing is educational.   Concerning time outs, this is very frustrating indeed.  I would suggest that a person who  tends to run  out of time choose games that are higher than five days a move.  That way if something unexpected comes up, he or she will still probably have time.  Personally I enjoy one day a move games.  Simply don't take part in one or three day games if you have a time out problem.  Suspending people with high TO percentages?  Then you might get into a debate of excuses.  There's a site that has a sort of bank that can be utilized so that the bank account is chopped into when you run out of time.  I don't like that but it's an idea.   What I do is check the opponent TO percentage before I accept a game.  If the percentage is high, I stay away.  I hate winning games on TO.  I want to know what my real rating is.  The TO problem will always be an issue, just consider staying away from players with a high percentage.

erik wrote:

- You can NOT use any advice from other players.

- You can NOT use any computers or devices to auto-analyze your specific position, including tablebases, chess engines, etc.

- You CAN use books, magazines, or other articles.

- You CAN use computer databases of games.
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is that clear enough? any questions or clarifications?

 

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Perfectly clear, I think.  I've only played 2 games so far (which ended before this thread began) and I just assumed that looking up openings in books was allowed, but using computer playing software to help you decide what move to play wasn't (obviously!).

The rules given seem sensible and fair.  There will always be people who try to cheat - I don't think it's worth users here worrying about them (it's erik's job to keep an eye on them! ) as they are a very small minority.  As my mum likes to say about cheats, "They're only cheating themselves".

 

BTW, this post was brought to you courtesy of my local university computer lab.  When I get my own internet connection back at my new home, I'll be able to post more often again.  

when i am playing a game,whatever format i will use,ME I MYSELF...

if i lose badly  iwill tell myself off,analyze why i lost tell myself off again, and send myself to bed without any supper.when i`m not playing i can study openings and do puzzles to sharpen my mind.

when i win and think i`ve played well (ME I MYSELF..that is) iwill run around the room shouting "yey yey yey i`m the greatest...."

this is because the work will have been all mine......

p.s.do you think i`ve got a bit of a problem........ lol

 

lostapiece wrote:

when i am playing a game,whatever format i will use,ME I MYSELF...

if i lose badly  iwill tell myself off,analyze why i lost tell myself off again, and send myself to bed without any supper.when i`m not playing i can study openings and do puzzles to sharpen my mind.

when i win and think i`ve played well (ME I MYSELF..that is) iwill run around the room shouting "yey yey yey i`m the greatest...."

this is because the work will have been all mine......

p.s.do you think i`ve got a bit of a problem........ lol

 

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Lostapiece, as your last comment shows I think you are truely a master of our own name. I long for the day when I will have the pleasure os throwing my hands in the air, shouting out with joy while I run round the room and I my case probably the streets as well to show off.

 

On a serious note however (erik you can feild this one) I guess that having a board set up beside the computer and playing the moves through on the real board is acceptable as all you are doing is playing the came in 3D rather than 2D flat screen?

 

 

Yes, that is fine runningrocker. Sometimes I do that to practice looking and analyzing from a real board so that I feel more comfortable during my real tournament games.


The main problem is people using other stronger players or Chess programs for assistance during your games.

 

thanks for that, MattHelfst.

A community like chess.com works on trust and that's exactly how it should be.  Those who are out to amass points by cheating are just insecure human beings who are spoiling the fun for others.  There should be some norms and some community policing.  That's necessary.  We are not, alas, in an ideal world.  Not yet. 

Man, this really upsets me. The music busy is full of sleazy, drug addicted and ego driven idiots and I spend a lot of time steering clear of them. I wake up in the morning and can look in the mirror and see an honest face, a person with a good reputation. One of the reason I enjoy chess so much is that it is supposed to be a game for civilized people. I so enjoy learning new tactics and techniques that I would never think about cheating. Isn't learning part of the challange, part of the fun? It is amazing that I have been such a dope, thinking that people wouldn't ever consider cheating at chess. Man, this just put a serious cloud over my otherwise great day. Erik, I think you have a difficult road ahead of you having to deal with cheaters and I appreciate the hard work you're having to put in. Let's keep this a clean environment. For those of you who cheat:

You're not doing anything but cheating yourself. Take a step back and try enjoying the learning process. I promise you it won't hurt your ego in the long run. Trust me when I say I have dealt with some sleazy people as a musician and there is nothing sleazier than a chess cheat!

lol, who would possibly ever do such a thing? What has the world come too???

Are people naive or am I jaded?

people are naive.

whew!

   I have enjoyed reading all the comments here.  It has been very amusing.   An iceberg is seven times bigger under water than that out of the water. When people cheat at this type of chess it shows there is a deeper problem within themselves than is apparent on the surface.  In this world there are alot of people messed up in the head.  These people would certainly fall into this category.  Usually they would be people who are very insecure about themselves.  I pity such people , however consequences are still necessary and I agree with the banning.  Also check out my iceberg album and leave a comment. 

It takes a free chess community like Chess.com to come down hard on cheaters.  do not even try using a laptop off line to cheat because i will be checking moves you made by using a laptop or another computer off line.

Lets think about our moves and earn rating points instead off stealing them by cheating.  lets lead the way when it comes to cheating.

Because by cheating you are not learning  about chess at all.

Once Banned you will not get away with making up another account because logging Ip addresses can solve that one and stop multiple accounts too

When chess players get a bigger Elo rating then the world champion what does it tell you.

It tells me they are cheating by using Rybka on top notch computer.

Also Tournament winner might be ask to analyse the games they won.

If you cheated how would you explain how you won that Game.

Cheaters can be found out very easily.

 How is chess.com Secret

Lets keep this site free from cheaters because it worth the battle against cheaters

If we do we will stop Fritz taking shredder or Rykba v fritz  hidden in usernames Games of chess.

Join another chess site like chessworld for that

 

 

Ok! Erik is right. a few people out of 14,000 should not let us become so upset we loose site of why we're here: To enjoy the art of chess. I've gotten over it. Cheaters only cheat themselves. Erik has pointed out what we can consult and what we cannot consult in the way of outside help. I think we've all voiced our opinions. Let's go bacl to having fun!

Hmmm. This issue of cheating arises almost invariably in any chess website with ratings. There's always this urge to want to be on the top of the list, and show the rest of the world you're good! However, I believe all of us chess players should go one step back and review what we're playing chess for. Just for the rating? OR rather for the beauty of the game. What is the point of playing using two accounts and resigning over and over again?

 

As for computer assistance, I guess thats a different matter. Its much harder to detect such, and you definitely don't want to ban experts for having their moves matching the suggested lines of some chess software! I mean, some of the top GMs have 80-90% of their moves agreeing with say Fritz or Junior! Besides, the policy of "innocent until proven guilty" that has to be met. In addition, in Correspondence Games, to my knowledge the use of chess databases, books and periodicals and even engines are not disallowed.

 

While the USCF rules states clearly "You may consult chess books and periodicals but not other players. You cannot use a computer or computer program to evaluate a game but you may use computers for record keeping. ", the ICCF (International Correspondence Chess Federation) which organises officially rated CC tournaments has no such clause. Referring to http://www.correspondencechess.com/knudsen/nut/05.htm, which gives a short introduction to novice CC players, the use of engines are not prohibited as there is simply no way to detect such use. This may seem ridiculous, prima facie, but as the writer aptly puts it, "correspondence chess is all about research".

 

So thats just food for thought. I guess Erik has the authority to set up his own set of rules so we'll see. If he mandates use of engines illegal, then it will all fall on the conscience of our players to follow it. Thats all from me!