Chess.com FAQs and Discussion on Cheating

I do not claim to be an expert but there is clarity on this issue where it matter the most, the rest is just opinion and philosphy to me.  Chess software and computer hardware is to readily available that will allow cheating at online chess to be done, easily. 

Fact:  Most any modern Chess software Fritz, Rybka et al, with some notable differences as to how it does it but nothing significant to this point, will calculate billions of calculations per game and achieve a very very very near perfect tactical game.  They all are short on long range strategy, but they more than make up for that difficiency against humans in their tactical awareness superiority. And if this is not enough, they are very very very consisitent.  They do these calculations time and time again, correctly because they are computers.*

Fact: All humans err and certainly the vast majority of chess players play imperfect tactical games. Even much more so the lower rated ones, but even higher rated ones will seldom, if ever play 100% of the time the  #1 or even # 2 lines of a given program's solution. Eventually, we will not see the critical tactical move or miss an opportunity, a computer does not.*

To use such technology against human opponents is unfair, if it is deemed such by the governing body such as Chess.com, this website's governing body.  It is obvious that such software would GREATLY enhance ones ability, since it is NOT your own ability, you are merely monkey see monkey do your way around a chess game, with no understanding beyond + or - x number of points for a given move. An insult to yourself and this game, not to mention your opponent who deserves better.  If you do understand chess and are doing this merely for egocentric satisfaction then you are worse off and should be booted off the site post haste, and I believe that reporting such behavior to FIDE, USCF and any other chess official may be in order, a known cheater's list.

It is not that difficult to determine if a player is playing beyond their ability and cheating, just look for perfection and soaring ratings.  I also have a suggestion ot two:

1)Place any player with a rating higher than 2000 under a random audit, as policy.  Higher rated players would recieve an audit prortionally more frequently, let them know when it is being done and reveal the results to them, good or bad.

2)Audit players whose ratings are increasing rapidly, you have a good study proving the results done by richie_and_oprah noted earlier.

This is a problem that is not going to go away, it is the times we live in, so we must be dilligent and very proactive to protect the integrety of our game, Chess. So keep the pressure up CC, our wonderful game deserves to played honestly, this site needs to maintain the integrity of the game, its players and itself, or it will fail.

My source for my computer information is "How to use Computers to Improve Your Chess" by Christian Kongsted

Good Games to all honest players!

Well I don't know why everyone bothers with catching cheaters, it seems chess.com will let them back on anyway. Any fool can regret the past but apparantly that's all it takes to be allowed back: link

How do you cheat at chess online anyway? Not that I want to know how...can some people fiddle with the time because I think I've noticed that. Or interfere with your computer? That may just be my computer slow, but I think I've noticed that too.

There's a list of what is and is not allowed in the first post of this thread.  If you see oddities with the time in live chess it's almost certainly just lag, which is the result of the time it takes for moves to be transmitted from your opponent, to the chess.com server, and then out to you.

If I understand correctly, basically your local computer keeps it's own clock and continues to count down after your opponent has actually made his move on his computer but before you've been alerted to this (the time of the delay between these two events varies depending on how bad the latency, or lag).  When you finally do get the notification of your opponents move it also comes with the clock time for that move, and of the lag is bad enough, a noticeable correction will be applied to your local clock.  It's not cheating, it's the system making sure the time is applied fairly when there is network latency introducing error.

That's actually a pretty decent description of what is happening.

Oh, sorry I ever doubted you chess.com. He was talking as if he was allowed willingly back on. And he was able to complete quite a few games before anyone realised..

 Well said!

Speaking personally, its very difficult for me to understand what the appeal is for people to cheat at chess.com.  Its not like we're getting paid to win games.  So what then is the reward - only the knowledge that your game is indeed improving.  It would never even occur to me personally to cheat because what on earth would be the point? 

So what then is the psychology of people who cheat here?  That would be a very interesting study.  Actually, I think people who cheat should be allowed back on after a while,  but only after attending and participating in mandatory online group sessions for cheaters, in their own exclusive private little forum (moderated by a counselor of course), where they can explore with other  cheaters their own feelings and discover why they cheat and its negative impact on other members and chess.com.  Why would people cheat here except out of some actual wish to subvert or destroy something that is good, as if that in and of itself was its own reward in their twisted psychology.

At the very least, new members when they first register should be forced to read an extended  "The more you know" type public service announcement about why cheating is  pointless and harmful (It could stay up on the screen for 15-20 seconds before registration  was complete.)

• For status
• Because they don't like to lose
• Because they don't like a particular opponent
• Because they want to win a tournament

The last 3 are interesting because they would indicate that the user starts small (maybe just for one game) but then it potentially grows.

People who cheat show a total lack of consideration for their opponents. Cheating is much worse than let's say cursing your game partner and calling him a jerk.

Many cheaters are probably mentally sick. That's why I doubt they should be allowed to return, most likely they will do what they know best: use a program to let them believe they are Kasparov. 

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If someone impostors a Grandmaster and is caught cheating shouldn't the real Grandmasters picture and their name be immediately removed from the cheaters account like this guy?

http://www.chess.com/members/view/KarpovChessMaster

The worst about it is that the GM might not even know that that someone is misusing their name and that they are the victim of  'identity theft'.

Horrible !!! 

But lots of people on this site use GM's names for their username and don't cheat. You can't be sure someone is cheating just because they use a GM's name. And hey, it actually could be that GM!

I always thought it was because they were a fan of that particular GM.

hic, maybe you missed the first phrase in alec's post "If someone impostors a Grandmaster and is caught cheating". He's not presuming that anyone using a GM name is an imposter/cheater. He's commenting on what to do with the cases that are.

Oh, right. My mistake.

I have a question for Erik et al.

I understand that the methods for detecting cheating are not going to be made public (after all you can't argue against something you know nothing about). However, if someone is caught cheating using these methods, do you guys tell the person how you caught him cheating, and give them a chance to defend themselves? Or do you say "we caught you cheating. what do you have to say?" I mean even the hardcore criminals are told what they are accused of and what the (detailed) evidence against them are. I hope you do the same.

Thank you.

Sometimes though, I will study different situations and decide what moves to make online. I rarely do this, but I only do it when I am in an interesting situation that is new to me.

Is this considerded cheating? If it is, I will stop right away, I'm just curious if I'm breaking any rules.

As long as you're not asking for advice on a game in progress -- either from other people or an engine, it's probably OK.

As a general rule, you can use static resources only -- databases, books, and other public domain material on openings, systems or situations are acceptable.  The one exception to that rule is endgame tablebases since they're effectively engine advice (as they are generated by chess engines).