Chess Cheating Hits New High!

It kinda sucks. Technology is really useful but it shows us how pathetic we are. We all love competition but it is coming to an end at some point because we just can't compare to machines. The singularity or something.

Kinda makes me want to seek greener pastures with go or shogi or something, but even those are only a matter of time before nobody can beat computers and before everyone can carry a world-beating program in their pocket.

Just keep on truckin.  It's both a blessing and a curse that computers are better than 99.5% of humans now at chess.  A part of me wants the pre-computer Chess days back, but a part of me also wants to keep the post-computer days.

It's too bad caps and bold can't make up for wiring skills.  The title didn't say current, it said hits new high.  Nowhere in the post did you illustrate what you meant by new high.  People shouldn't have to figure out your writing, you should state what you mean clearly.  The French example is not a new high in terms of venue, class of player, or prize fund.

It is clear though you just wanted to talk about your thoughts on cheats and punishment which I didn't read on my hunch that the 2nd half would be as worthless as the first.

At first glance it's difficult to argue with this statement, but what if your computer short circuits and you have to use your cell phone to surf the internet for a website that explains how to rewire it?  See, the problem there is the words are too small to make out on your tiny cell phone screen unless the author used caps and bold.

Most sports are ruined with too much money, but there will always be more amateur than proffesional. I know so many people who stoped playing sport because they were not selected for a team because of their coach's unfair preference to weaker players. Cheating and computers are not such a problem as not having equipment, place to play, friends to play with and experienced people to teach you.

Who is in the 0.5%? Must be some untitled players here, because the World Champion was passed by when Fritz 9 came out a few years ago.

u guys are talking abt cheating when there is big suspicisions that magnus carlsen is A.I. (aritficial intelligence) altough not proven. he is made of silicon. now and then he just throws off games so not to be too obvious.

Erik, protect us from these cheats!

yea i guess maybe the whole toiletgate reference was kind of out of line, I just wanted to make the point of how out of hand the situation is getting at all levels.

take me to your leader...

well said

Ok so Kramnik is a natural monster and was Not cheating.  However, it definitely seems like 2600+ Sebastien Feller was cheating at the latest Olympiad with the help of 2 other members of the French team.  So it's obvious cheating in chess is starting to spiral out of control, at all levels.  I wrote this post to shed light on the problem and more importantly, to propose solutions to fix it.

What about Kasparov vs. Deep Blue?  Did IBM use GM's to mess with the log functions in game 2 of the second match?  I mean...did they ever show the proof that Deep Blue actually made that "human-like" move? 

Thought, comments?

I believe IBM simply denied the allegation but did not provide clear proof.  However, they were employing a team of GMs to help with the programming and during-match adjustments - so it's possible Deep Blue simply improve it's positional intuition and play through it's ample interactions with the human GM team.  Personally, I don't think IBM cheated during the match.

Accusations of cheating are at an all-time high, as are the technologies that facilitate unfair assistance. Actual cheating, however, probably not elevated much. Detection methods are keeping pace with cheating innovations leading to a few high profile stories.

More and more cheating with less and less shame !  I blame it on today's PC environment and the bogus crap taught to kids these days like "situational ethics " and there is no " right" or "wrong " ...  When I was a young man men cheated on their wives ( some, not all ) but even those who did kept it secret and were probably ashamed of the fact so didnt want people to know...... now it seems some men even brag of their infidelities and its just wink, wink, all round.... Oh, and same goes for the women !  ( dont want to be labeled a sexist afterall ! ) 

NM Reb ur a sexist :D :P

I was flipping through an old Chess Life magazine and came across the following quote by Edward Lasker in The Adventure of Chess: "Perhaps the increasing laxity of chess morals is a reflection of the general decay of ethics bound to develop in an age in which the defeat of the competitor in the minds of most people has become the end that sanctifies the means, in business as well as in politics.  That does not make the state of affairs less disgusting."

I thought it was interesting how this might apply to the posted topic.

How do personal computers contribute to the degeneration of morals? Easy access to porn?

PC= political correctness