FM Borislav Ivanov Disqualified

Well Ivanov has set the chess world a challenge.

If he is cheating discover how he is doing so that he can be convicted and potential future cases prevented.

So, is playing the most accurate moves now against the rules? Are we supposed to throw in a slight inaccuracy every tenth move so that we don't get in trouble? The only argument I've seen against Ivanov is because of statistical analysis. It is quite convincing, but I think we should at least try to set him up.

For some reason, it almost sounds like an admission of guilt to me. Though the main purpose i think is to convince the chess world to allow him to continue to play.

It's not going to work this way.

Indeed, Ivanov has set a challenge. But the challenge is not in finding the precise way of how he is doing his stuff, but in implementing some serious rules to prevent anything to happen.

If we just find that he used method X and make something that specifically prevents method X, someone will come up with method Y, get for another cycle, and at some point someone else with serious chess knowledge (say 2400+) with method Z and use it in a non statistically significant way and prize-tournaments chess is doomed.

I agree the hardest part of the challenge is to make FIDE move - as soon as it decides to take measures against cheating, it will be relatively easy to make some changes to it according to the needs. But still, a universal method must be found, not a fix for particular things.

This can include statistical analysis, but long-term it is doomed too because of the intelligent guy with method Z who will miraculously have a (n-1)% match if you set the cheating monitoring decision at n%.

Comparison : despite the rule among magicians not to reveal the secrets to laymen, some guys post youtube videos with those secrets every day. Does that mean that one day those videos will cover all possible sleights of hands ? No, magicians create new tricks and techniques every day. But it does not mean anything is possible, and particularly restrictive performance conditions have made every "psychic" or other magicians that claim to be for real fail the tests.

No, playing the most accurate moves aren't against the rules, but playing moves exactly like how a chess engine would play them is highly suspicious. 

According to this logic, no one should be banned in online chess. 

Nor should DNA evidence ever be admissible.

And around it goes, one more time.

So, Ivanov doesn't cheat?

Presumably he doesn't any longer if he's disqualified, unless he cheats in skittles matches too?

I agree that Ivanov is cheating.  The only issue is how.  Most likely an accomplice in the audience.  Valeri Lilov suggests an optical contact lens but I doubt anything so high tech exists in the marketplace.  Most likely a small ear implant is all that is necessary, and a spotter in the audience.

Not sure how much credence I'd put in the timing prediction here, but:

http://www.stuff.tv/news/life-etc/news-nugget/contact-lens-displays-are-incoming-for-2014

Well chess.com can do whatever they want because it is their site. However, to ban someone on because of "cheating" in a tournament, you should need actual proof of what they did to cheat to actually ban somebody. Ivanov probably is cheating, but we don't need a mob mentality everytime somebody plays a good game of chess.

Hmmm, seems to me that it's their federation just as much as it is chess.com's site....

Do we have a mob mentality everytime someone plays a good game of chess?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I certainly do.

I saw what you did there.

Should we then call for the death penalty on Ivanov as a mob?

Do what you want, I'm going to do my own thing as a mob.

Wouldn't the TD's do whatever they want because it's their tournament? Or FIDE do whatever they want because it's their organization? If I play a perfect game of chess against you that matches houdini moves exactly, would you not say I am cheating? Maybe I finally memorized all those positions or got good in the same way Ivanov did. Why don't we play several matches and see :P. Of course it would be much worse if you had to lose in tournaments where you could/should of won money, but hey you have no evidence I am cheating so you can't complain or say I am cheating because then you would be part of that mob mentality ;).

I personally think Ivanov is cheating, but the blitz story I read a few pages back is making me hesitant. It does seem implusible for him to cheat with only 5-7 seconds per move, but it also seems implusible for him to play exactly like a computer :S.