Electronic Devices At Tournaments

Modern technology is amazing, and everywhere.

Is it at your tournaments?

At the local tournaments that I play, it certainly is, and this causes me to be wary.  Don't get me wrong, I love the plethora of devices out there and their benefits.  Still, they can, if we're not careful, grant others power when they should not have it in certain situations.  I specifically am referring to tournament play.

At some tournaments, I have seen people using hand held devices to record the moves of their games rather than the standard sheets that the rest of us fill out with pencil or pen.  The devices typically allow one to just move a piece on a digital board, and the device records the moves.  A nice advantage, but I can't help but question what else the application might be doing for the competitor who has it.  It's like an arms race trying to keep up with what apps are out there and what they can do.  While I don't know of specific ones, it's quite possible that some could analyze positions or find "best moves" to make with just a tap of a finger.  Certainly many of them would allow even the temporary movement of a piece to "see what it looks like", which definitely would be a form of cheating.

I brought this up to the one who runs the tournaments and he mentioned that the devices are not a problem, but if I were to see an opponent or anyone else misusing their device in such a way, I should bring it to his attention.  I didn't quite like this answer.  I'm at the board trying to study the position and calculate lines of play.  It shouldn't also be my job to carefully watch my opponent, and try to figure out if what is going on with his/her device is legal.  Hell, the screens are so small, they could be watching adult movies on mute for all I know.  (Doubtful that they are, but I think you get my point.)

I don't trust that with all the apps out there, even moderators who do their job well and walk around would know whether apps are being used in a proper way, and misuse could be very easy to hide or erase evidence of.

Has the USCF anything to say about hand held devices during tournaments?  If there is some rules out there banning them, I'd love to get a link to such a site verifying this so that I could show it to local moderators and end the discussion with them about it right there.  Does anyone know of such rules?  I've searched, but have come up with nothing.

Also, have any of you encountered similar frustrations?

Or, do you yourself have such a device that you've used in tournament play?  Can you testify as to how easily you could cheat with it under the radar if you wanted to?  (Certainly you wouldn't, right?  )

Thank for any info any of you can provide!

Logically, if the use of an analysis board is forbidden, then so are such devices, since they constitute an analysis board. It should probably suffice to point this out to the TD.

I've thought about it too; I've not seen such activity but have considered that it would save me time transcribing moves from paper to computer after the night's over and I want to computer analyse my games.

But I didn't bother to do it, because the concern of cheating from other people would be bothersome, if they think it is analysing for me (which of course it would do at a touch of a button, though logically this should be obvious to any opponent if I were to do that)

A device that's too small for an opponent to see (say, a phone instead of a tablet) should be a clear no-no.

Even in informal unrated unrecorded games at my club that form no part of any tournament or league, if I take my phone out of my pocket for something I'll announce "Excuse me, I must reply to this message" or somesuch to make it clear what I am doing, despite the informality of the game. In any formal game, my phone would be on silent and remain untouched in my pocket (and my tablet remains at home).

if it was up to me all devices should be handed over to to referee before the game. if just one uses his smartphone for one position it can DESTROY the whole tournament.
you don't know what he is doing with device if he goes to the toilet.
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=693

I might file a complaint if the opponent was using anything other than a pen and piece of paper. 

If the screen was big and the opponent was clearly using a word file, typing in things like ''d4'' they might be able to get away with it. 

A board that saves the moves in pgn right away is of course highly suspect: Opponent could be trying to set up any position. 

Unless you're going to have airport-style security, that would achieve nothing. A player who plans to cheat would simply claim to not have such a device upon their person.

You can actually check before the game if the person with the device reported to the arbiter. Notation after all happens in the open. Of course I would expect the device to be lying on the table at all times.

Still, I object to it that using a device with a virtual board is notation. A kid that doesn't know the squares and doesn't bother to learn could still enter a tournament, which is an unfair advantage. Applying the notation is part of the skill. 

I believe the USCF only allows a Monroi device that only allows the moves to be recorded and saved. The device does nothing else, no analysis or computer engine is available in the device. If I remember correctly there are no apps on phones allowed because one could access another app with an engine in it. I think there was one app that was created that locked out all other apps so nothing else could be used to cheat with but the USCF has not approved its use. If I find the appropriate link I'll post it

 I have to say i personally don't agree with te use of the Monroi device or any other in tournaments. To me it is just plain lazy and wrong if you can;t keep score then you need to learn how.

What about GM's who use a monroi? Are they lazy? Maybe theyre able to then download the games to a data base afterwards, not sure because I don't have one

 OK maybe lazy is not the right word, i just think you should be able to keep score and not use any electronic device during a game

Thanks Shadowknight911 ! I just wish the Monroi wasn't so expensive or I'd get one ;)

I had a 1800 pull out one of those, I thought he was cheating! he put it away after the 5th move however, and I ended up beating him as black

Idk. However, I think he injured his writing hand and that was why he was using the device.

Maybe he realized  by nate23's body language and stare that it bothered him, so he put it away out of consideration.  They are a few considerate people still left in this world.

Or he saw my older brother, who is a football lineman

If the device is in plain sight on the table and you only enter your move after you make it on the board, how could you use it to cheat even if it had a pocket fritz engine?  

This is an interesting issue. I read an issue of British Chess magazine in the 1990's[!] that had a discussion on this sort of cheating. It described an incident where a guy grew his hair long, hid earphones under it to receive computer moves in a whisper, called himself John Von Neumann and proceeded to draw with GM Helgi Olaffson. Von was only caught out when his games became so weird [he had no clue how to make a single move organically] such as losses of time on move 5 when the audio system didn't work, and the arbiter asked for a name -refused - and wanted to play a game with Von - refused - so no game, no name, no prize.

That was over a decade ago with stone age technology compared to now! Yet even then the article concluded that such cheating was commonplace and that arbiters knew about it and turned a blind eye!

I agree with your dislike with the arbiter's response. Not only is it your job to make your moves. But what are you meant to do? Call the other person a cheat and get a fist in the face or a lawsuit?

People cheat online. But not as many as a lot of people think. But crossboard chess isn't immune from it either. But I don't know if you can ban all electronic devices. What if someone needs one for a health reason? Or to watch over their house? I don't know.

What happens if you enter your move wrong?  You have to back up.  So there can't be a rule that says you can't back up.  You always have an excuse to use it as an analysis pad at a critical moment by feigning an incorrect input.  Yes it's very suspicious, but lets say it's the money game, and you have deniability while using a cheating method.

That's what I've always thought anyway.  Never messed with one myself.

Yes.

I would want to write a program to resemble e-notate that when you tap the corner (or some kind of signal known only to the user) it would begin analysis.  Give the signal again and it would flash a to and from square for the best move as suggested by an engine and also stop calculating.

Not that I'd want to ever cheat in a tournament, but just for the challenge of making a device like this which would be capable of doing it :p  I'd more likely try to show it off as reason to get electronic recorders banned from the playing hall.

Don't worry too much though... I don't know how to write software for a pda or modify a monroi.

Wow, I didn't know they had such devices. I dont think I'll be comfortable playing with someone punching in moves into a machine while playing, but thats because I havent seen one b4, I suppose if its ok with the TDs then y not?