Has a ranked player ever been caught cheating during an OTB game?

With today's technology it seems that it's not impossible for a chess player to cheat during an OTB game. It would not be necessary to involve a secret third party during the game, a tiny computer (such as an ipod touch) running the right software and most importantly the right input/output system is all the player needs in order to cheat during a game. The player could hide the computer in his lap or shoe and, with the right input/output system in place, enter each move using only 4 signals: initial rank and file, final rank and file.

For example, if the opponent moves the knight from b8 to c6, the player simply needs to tap twice to indicate the second file (b), pause for a moment to let the computer know subsequent input is for the rank, and tap eight times to indicate the 8th rank. The player would then pause for another moment in order to let the computer know he is done entering the initial position, and a few seconds later he would repeat a similar drill for the final position. He would then wait for the computer to come up with the next move, which would be broadcast to him using some type of rudimentary tactile feedback system, like a sequence of harmless electric shocks or gentle pricking of the skin with a small pointy object.

With the right technical expetise it seems that such a cheating system is far from being impossible to implement. I wonder if anyone has ever been caught cheating in a similar manner during an OTB game?

It's relatively rare to being with, and I don't think anyone has been caught during a game.  There was a kid at some national open in the USA (forgot which tournament) who wore ear warmers/earmuffs to cover up a small device he tried to pass off as a hearing aid.  It wasn't, and was for communication, and he was banned. 

D.P. Singh comes to mind, an Indian chess player -- read here http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3595

It seems to be gone now, but I remember looking up his friend's rating, also suspected of cheating Umakant Sharma where you see his rating suddenly jumps from 2300 (after being there for years) to 2500 and then goes back to 2300 the year his friend was banned for cheating.

But having a device in your shoe (or lap!) would we way too obvious, especially after your rating jumps and you're under closer scrutiny.  I've thought of a similar way to cheat during a game with a modified piece of clothing like a belt that gives small electric shocks to indicate a square as you describe.  It seems D.P Singh though, was even able to cheat in blitz.  They had people watching him for signals to an accomplice in the room, and even set up barriers to block visibility, they searched him and his clothing and things... from what I've read it sounds very mysterious how he managed to cheat, obviously they wouldn't want other to know the specifics, but I've wondered how he did it.

If someone was motivated to do it right and had the resources to cheat I don't think they'd be able to catch you, although I think it'd take a lot more time and money than it's worth.

Wow. Such conspiracy theories! Lol

I think the kind of time and energy it would take to develop and implement such a system would be much more profitable in a casino environment, playing poker or blackjack or some game where the player can win against the "house," which is loaded with money.

The kind of money one can win by playing in a chess tournament is infinitesmally small compared with that which can be won in a casino. I work in a casino. LOTS of money there. I know small-timers (if you can believe it) who routinely place $1000 blackjack bets. Chess tournaments...? Not so much.

All this is aside from the fact that any 'unknown' who quickly rises through the chess ranks by beating all the leading GM's in OTB play would certainly come upon great scrutiny before he was ever able to play in a 'big money' event. Thus, his scandalous cheating practices would be discovered.

Is it possible for someone to cheat in an OTB game? Absolutely! Does it happen often? Probably not... And at the highest levels of competition, it is virtually non-existent.

Actually, Singh's friend was caught redhanded - a hidden Bluetooth device in his cap!

I overheard this discussed at a tournament recently. With so many kids playing chess while listening to their ipods/phones the possibility of an app that can be quickly accessed and shut back down is real. I would think that with ratings changing too quickly, not to mention a player constantly looking down, they would be caught. 

Hopefully ethics, sportsmanship, and common courtesy is being taught as well chess. I found the people who refuse to be quiet the most frustrating to deal with and they were the old timers!

The US incident referenced above took place at the 2006 World Open in Philadelphia:

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3280

Wow, I bet the FM and GM he beat were really upset.

The Umakant Sharma case made it to the Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umakant_Sharma

The problem is, they are hard to catch. It is really despicable. I think anyone playing an OTB game should be watched while on breaks, except maybe bathrooms via cameras. And if they are often going to bathroom it should arouse suspicion.

Luckily, chess.com catches a lot of cheaters daily...

I can refer you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheating_in_chess where there is a full run down of the various forms of cheating.

Followed the link and read the advice about heading to the bathroom after every move with pocket fritz under your wolf head hat, carrying an umbrella... no one will suspect a thing lol 

What is the usual punishment for these caught cheats in otb play ? I think it should be very severe myself. Maybe a ban for life from rated play.

Not if the cheater is smart. He could play on his own for some time and then gradually improve with the help of a computer. He would, of course, need to set the computer to play at a certain level, and only increase the computer's strength at a rate that's more or less consistent with the improvement you'd expect from a legitimate, talented player. He would win some and lose some, and once he reaches master strength he could become more sophisticated and occassionally make his own moves (or the second or third best moves) and then let the computer take over. That way, when people run his games through a chess engine they can't say that he played the same moves the computer would have played. He might even alternate between two or more chess engines: he could use one for the endgame and the other one for the middle game, or he could switch engines after a given number of moves.

That way and assuming that the cheater successfully conceals his cheating device, the cheater would raise no more red flags than any other talented player would.

Now this was hilarious

"

Editorial comment

Many great ideas in the history of mankind were born in the shower. Or in the toilet. But computer-assisted ideas during chess tournaments are frowned upon. It is immoral and unethical to use our hand-held program to find a refutation to the combination your opponent has just played. It is even more dishonourable to use the little device to consult the giant online database that is maintained by ChessBase in Hamburg and contains over two million games. Or the truly gigantic online openings tree, where the program gives you full statistics on each move. That is just plainwrong!

However, if in spite of our admonitions anyone should decide to actually use Pocket Fritz to enhance his performance, the least he or she can do is to avoid getting caught. The manual clearly give instructions on how to do this. We bring you a summary extract with pictures taken by our German ChessBase colleagues.

Now this is the wrong way of going about it. Obviously the cheat has not protected himself from the prying eyes of arbiters who may look over the top of the stall.

This is much better. The use of an umbrella is highly recommended, but the cheat is still getting it wrong: the pocket PC screen is visible to an arbiter looking into the stall from above.

Correct! The arbiter will simply assume that the player is protecting himself from an unexpected downpour of rain.

Note that you should restrict your visits to the toilet to three or four during a game. Going to the loo after every single move will doubtless raise suspicion, and the arbiter may in fact demand that you do not take the umbrella with you the next time.

In order to conceal your Pocket Fritz during a chess game third party vendors have come up with some interesting solutions. We have tested the elegant winter hat shown in the above picture and are able to confirm that it completely conceals a Pocket PC with the program installed on it.

With this hat and an umbrella nobody will look twice when you slip into the toilet to check the position with yourPocket Fritz."

ROFL!

if somebody wanted to create that app they would have to rich and have a lot of time as it costs around $200 for the basic engine( i saw it on the apple website) and then they will need a lot of time to remove bugs and all that sort of things as well as copyright for all the engine moves. it would cost to much to do something like to win the money to pay for everything you would of spent on the software and copyright but it could be possible

I lol too

The first thing I thought of when I read the thread title was Kasparov not moving a piece he touched against Polgar. 

 In casinos obviously yes. You're stealing money from the house. In poker, since you're not playing against the casino, it's up to the players to press charges. It seems like they would want to make it ilegal to cheat in a chess tournament as well, since you're stealing prize money.

I think it'd be fairly easy to markedly improve your performance by just using an engine once or twice a game in the loo.

You can usually tell roughly where a critical position is, and consulting it once or twice a game then would reap huge benefits, without arising suspicion.

True, it was 3 moves ago :(