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Sunday Post - Jim Webster - 26-10-2020
An interesting article from the Sunday Post
Chess chiefs move to defeat rise in cheating as games move online in lockdown
by Craig McDonald
October 25, 2020, 12:00 pm
The usually hushed world of chess is in uproar after a contagion of cheating during lockdown.
With more games being forced online, computer programmes are increasingly being used to find the perfect move, swing games and boost players’ rankings.
Scots chess administrators said the number caught cheating has doubled since lockdown began, but added there are stringent measures in place to catch the cheats.
John McNicoll, a council member of Chess Scotland and a qualified arbiter in the game, said: “It’s harder to catch people cheating online than it is playing in the traditional way. People think no one will ever know if they use a computer to cheat but, we have various methods to catch them.
“We have caught people and have punished them by banning them. It has risen a lot since lockdown. Before, we considered about two accusations of cheating in three or four years. Since lockdown, we’ve had five or six.”
It’s estimated there are around 2,500 people in Scotland who play at a serious level. Cheats use computer programmes to work out optimum moves which only the very best players would know. But authorities have their own software which can analyse a player’s moves and detect suspicious patterns.
Mr McNicoll said: “We have seen low-graded players suddenly playing like the world champion. We have caught one adult, with an investigation into another adult ongoing, and the rest have been younger players.”
Andy Howie, executive director of Chess Scotland, who chairs its anti-cheating committee, said: “There has been quite an increase since lockdown and since we went online. However, it has not affected Scotland as much as elsewhere.
“We have made it clear we will have measures in place to catch cheats and we will be on the front foot on this issue.”
Experts agree there has been a surge in what’s been referred to as “computer-doping” since games went online following lockdown.
Chess.com, the world’s biggest site for online play, said it had 12 million new users this year, up from 6.5 million last year. The cheating rate had jumped from between 5,000 and 6,000 players banned per month last year to almost 17,000 in August.
Gerard Le-Marechal, head of the site’s fair play team, said: “It’s just so easy to do and it’s without doubt creating a crisis.”
International Chess Federation boss Arkady Dvorkovich described cheating as a “plague” within the game.
Professor Ken Regan, who has devised a computer programme to scan games and detect cheating, said: “The pandemic has brought me as much work in a single day as I had in a year previously.”
RE: Sunday Post - George Neave - 28-10-2020
Personally I don't know why anyone would play online chess at amateur level other than blitz and there, generally, not to be taken too seriously. It's clear playing longer time controls is completely open for cheating and, therefore, completely pointless as far as I can see.
RE: Sunday Post - christophernield - 29-10-2020
As someone who occasionally plays standard play games online, the amount of people I have played against who have cheated is truly concerning. The problem lies in the fact that not only do people think that they can get away with cheating, but also that people usually cheat on numerous occasions before getting caught. Also, the cheaters can very easily create new accounts after being caught, meaning there is currently no way to truly stop it. This is the main reason why I usually only play blitz or bullet chess online.
RE: Sunday Post - harrymarron - 29-10-2020
(28-10-2020, 06:17 PM)George Neave Wrote: Personally I don't know why anyone would play online chess at amateur level other than blitz and there, generally, not to be taken too seriously. It's clear playing longer time controls is completely open for cheating and, therefore, completely pointless as far as I can see.
You should ask the 150+ kids and their parents who are regularly playing competitive, CS allegro graded games. The games are all screened for cheating and no-one seems to have a problem!
Far from being pointless these tournaments are providing a stimulus for kids to continue practising and playing in the present void. The sense of achievement gained from competing and winning does not seem to me to have lessened any.
RE: Sunday Post - Andy Howie - 29-10-2020
(29-10-2020, 12:42 PM)harrymarron Wrote:(28-10-2020, 06:17 PM)George Neave Wrote: Personally I don't know why anyone would play online chess at amateur level other than blitz and there, generally, not to be taken too seriously. It's clear playing longer time controls is completely open for cheating and, therefore, completely pointless as far as I can see.
You should ask the 150+ kids and their parents who are regularly playing competitive, CS allegro graded games. The games are all screened for cheating and no-one seems to have a problem!
Far from being pointless these tournaments are providing a stimulus for kids to continue practising and playing in the present void. The sense of achievement gained from competing and winning does not seem to me to have lessened any.
Or even the 1,000 odd players I am interacting with in 4NCL/J4NCL and 4NCL Congress every week. They seem to be taking it very seriously. They even expect their games to be graded. How novel...
RE: Sunday Post - David Clayton - 30-10-2020
(28-10-2020, 06:17 PM)George Neave Wrote: Personally I don't know why anyone would play online chess at amateur level other than blitz and there, generally, not to be taken too seriously. It's clear playing longer time controls is completely open for cheating and, therefore, completely pointless as far as I can see.
Hello George, Yes, it is possible for someone to cheat online, especially in longer games. But I will tell you why I play online chess, and not blitz or fast games as I don't enjoy those games at all.
I have had some really exciting games online, when you are under pressure and you find a way out, when you make a sacrifice and it come off, when you are short of time and still make some really good moves. those things get the adrenaline going and it can take time to wind down after exciting games, even when you loose.
How can I be confident my opponents are not cheating and how can my opponents be confident I am not cheating on them? Well, I am playing fellow club and league members. I trust them not to cheat and they do likewise. I guess that at club nights I have behaved in a manor that given them confidence that I will play fair with them, the same way as they will play fair with me. We often go through the games afterwards, just like you would do over the board. Sometime online chat, but often over the phone and spend ages going through interesting games.
Online chess has kept me in regular contact with the friends I have made at the chess club, that must be a good reason to play online, especially if you are in the highest level of lockdown like I am.
Now I appreciate not everyone is in this position, so I would advise people who wish to play with opponents they may not know, to make sure they are playing in tournaments where they employ extra checks and tighter controls to give people more confidence that their opponents will be playing fair.
So those are my personal reasons for playing online chess, but I equally know some players who don't think online chess offers them the same enjoyment as over the board chess.
David
RE: Sunday Post - David Deary - 30-10-2020
Online chess is a poor substitute for over the board. Particularly the social aspect that you simply can't recreate online. Whether its joking with your team mates or catching up with old foes at Congresses. Theres nothing quite like it, when you're playing in a team match and you look along the line or check the other boards to see how the match is going. With the relief as you realise the team is doing well or the pressure as you realise you need to win to deliver the match. Its just not the same online.
As for cheating it goes on and as someone else highlighted above they get caught afterwards. By which point they have already frustrated their opponent who has done nothing wrong but feels like they've wasted their time. Cheating also happens in 4NCL online as it did my brother, he plays significantly more online than me and was adamant that the guy was a cheat and so it proved.
Online chess is not the nirvana that some claim. It offers a poor substitute whilst OTB is off the table due to coronavirus, nothing more. The focus has to be on surviving this pandemic, by following the rules and losing as few players as possible. I genuinely worry that the social aspect of these lockdowns has been ignored and we are inherently creatures of habit. How many of us might not get back into the habit?