the world of competitive chess was upended in September when 19 year old American Grand Master Han Smokey Neiman was accused of cheating by five-time world champion Magnus Carlson the allegations surfaced last month after Carlson abruptly withdrew from the sinkfield cup in St Louis after losing a game against Neiman it must be embarrassing for the world champion to lose to me about two weeks later during a Carlson Neiman rematch Carlson resigned after making just one move what no Carson then explicitly accused Neiman of cheating saying he hoped the truth in this matter comes out whatever it may be the cheating allegations against Neiman grew louder on October 4th when chess. com released an investigation it conducted into Neiman's matches the report alleged that he cheated more than 100 times in online games as recently as 2020 Neiman denied cheating during the sinkfield cup or in any in-person chess match but the Grand Master did admit he's cheated at two points in his life once as a 12 year old and in other random games at age 16. in an absolutely ridiculous mistake and on radio games after that I had another one I was 12 I have never ever in my life cheated in an over-the-board game in an online tournament but now with the Integrity of the game under scrutiny many are asking how could someone cheat at chess in the age of smartphones and software today's cheaters can use computer programs known as chess engines chess engines first entered the public Consciousness in 1997 when the chess computer known as deep blue beat the then world champion Gary Kasparov deep blue's victory was a milestone as it was the first time a computer beat a world champion but today these programs are widely available anyone can download one on their smartphone they're also powerful modern chess engines are now capable of beating even the best human every single time but if someone wanted to cheat by using a computer they'd have to do so without being noticed so how could the computer get information to the cheating player unseen one of the best known methods involves trips to the bathroom to secretly look at a phone equipped with a chess engine since experienced players are able to memorize the board and input it into chess software they don't necessarily need a collaborator to cheat in 2019 Latvian Grandmaster igorce Rouses confessed to cheating on four different occasions in three instances by using his mobile phone but if a cheater weren't going to the bathroom too many times how would they get instructions and avoid detection one option would be coordinating with an accomplice who uses a chess engine and then sends moves to a device hidden somewhere on the player's body that Gadget could be a tiny vibrator or a nearly invisible earpiece something as small as a quick Buzz could indicate that the best tactic is say a night move rather than a pawn a player could also receive signals from someone in the audience since chess players only need a few moments of help throughout a game cheating can be hard to catch during an in-person game but the website chess.
com has developed sophisticated methods to uncover unethical gameplay the website recently closed over 18 000 accounts due to cheating chess. com said it was able to identify matches where Neiman likely cheated in online games using two main methods first they looked at Neiman's moves and compared them to those recommended by chess engines with analytic software the website also monitored Neiman to see what windows he pulled up during the game when players compete online they have certain screen and data sharing protocols they must agree to with organizers who usually mandate webcams as well chess. com said it found that Neiman performed much better while toggling between screens during games the second way chess.
com said that it determined Neiman was likely cheating was by studying his past performances to get a sense of his strengths and weaknesses by comparing the moves a player makes against the moves a computer would make the chest site developed a strength score to determine if a player is playing a better game than their skill level Neiman hasn't responded to requests for comment last month he said he dedicated himself to in-person chess after he'd been caught cheating to prove himself as a player although no one has proven that Neiman did in fact cheat in his match against Carlson many chess fans see chess. com's investigation as damning Neiman himself has even praised the website for its analysis they have the best cheat detection in the world and due to that analysis chess. com has barred Neiman from its one million dollar Global Championship when Neiman questioned the decision he was told by chess.
