Indian number-two Vidit Gujrathi speaks to David Cox about his predictions for the Candidates, the impact coronavirus is having on the chess world, and his recent heartbreak at Februarys Prague Chess Festival.

A relative late bloomer in chess termsHe didnt even become a grandmaster until after turning 18, something almost unheard of at the elite level nowadays25-year-old Vidit Gujrathi has been one of the worlds most improved players in recent years.

A spell training with Anish Giri worked wonders for the Indian stars game and after breaking 2700 in September 2017, hes gone from strength to strength, establishing himself as a consistent performer just outside of the worlds elite.

He won the Biel Chess Festival in 2019, and while he threw away an almost certain tournament victory at last months Prague Masters with a disastrous couple of defeats in the final two rounds, he remains one to watch.

Vidit will be keenly monitoring the Candidates over the coming weeks. Like many professional players, his own tournament plans have been put on hold for the time being as the world tries to come to terms with the coronavirus pandemic which has swept across the planet over the past couple of months.

The interview was conducted via phone. Text may have been edited for clarity or length.

Chess.com: To start off with, who are you picking to win the Candidates?

Vidit Gujrathi: First of all, I wasnt sure that Candidates would begin! I thought theres a possibility it could be postponed until the situation normalizes because for the players it must not be easy. I saw Fabi struggling to even get there for two days and with so many things happening, it cant be a pleasant mindset to be in. I think health should be the top priority, but I just hope that now its happening, it all goes smoothly. Im sure everyone would prefer that this happened sometime later in the year when everything is settled. Theres no denying that.

But its kind of obvious that Caruana and Ding are like the favorites and in the past year or two, theyve had very stable results. I think that Wang Hao may have a good performance, but I dont see him winning the tournament. And neither do I see Alekseenko coming close. Hes good, but I feel many things have to be improved. If I have to pick one, Id pick Ding.

Many people seem to be feeling that its Dings time right now?

The top three players are very stableMagnus, Fabi, and Ding. With White, Ding almost always gets a good position, his conversion rate is good, and with Black, hes rarely in trouble. He has a pretty narrow repertoire with Black, but somehow its been working pretty well for him. Thats one thing Ill be looking forward towill he expand his openings in the Candidates, will he try something new?

Obviously this is the second Candidates for Anish. From Twitter it seems like the two of you are still good friends, can you tell us how you became close?

We had some training sessions, and that ended a few years ago, but still we stayed in touch, and we are good friends, because Im one of the few people that can take his jokes! Not taking it personally. I know him, and most of the time he doesnt mean it. He gets joy from creating a joke, thats what I feel. Its nothing personal or below the belt against anyone.

The entire sporting world has been disrupted of late by coronavirus, and many chess events have already been canceled. How has it affected you?

Its affecting the schedule, but to be honest, I dont mind the rest because the last year was quite hectic, and I had some health problems because of this lifestyle. So actually its very good that I get to rest, and Im actually looking forward to just being at home for two to three months and not playing. But looking at the big picture, its not nice for the game and the economy. Its really nothing to be excited about, but on the personal side, it just gives me a chance to rest which I wouldnt otherwise. So Im just going to use that time to recover myself.

So coronavirus has actually come at a good time for you!

I wouldnt say that! To use sanitizers ten times a day and not go out isnt great. Its a really strange feeling. Everywhere in the news, its just constantly that discussionhow many people have been affected. But on the chess side of things, Im not disappointed that I dont get to play for two to three months.

What health issues did you face last year?

I actually lost a lot of weight, around ten kilograms. It wasnt gradual, it was all of a sudden. I think doctors said that it was most likely lifestyle or stress related. Because every other week Im traveling, which is not really good with so many time differences and jetlag. I think thats the reason. Because for me, I dont really play in India. Mainly Im jumping from one flight to another. Probably my body didnt cope with it that well.

Lets talk about the last time you were in action, the Prague Festival last month. You seemed to be comfortably on the way to victory until round eight where you lost that dramatic game to David Navara, and then the final round loss to Jan-Krzysztof Duda allowed Alireza Firouzja to catch you. How do you feel looking back on the tournament?

I felt like I was playing really well, after a long time. There was a difference between me and the other players in the tournament in terms of the level. I felt that, with White, every game I had a big advantage at least. Id had a few good games before, but not this consistent level. So that made it even more heartbreaking to play so well, but then lose it in such a manner. If I look at the odds of this happening, I would have had to say they would be pretty slim. Pretty much everything had to go wrong.

Vidit's miniature against Firouzja was one of the most impressive games in the event. Notes by Peter Doggers.

The game with Navara was really tough. I sacrificed a piece early and completely dominated the game from start to almost the finish. I felt, "OK, Im winning; this is all done and dusted. Im champion." And then all of a sudden, I made some slight error, and I dropped a big chunk of my advantage. It was very frustrating, because it had been almost over, and I didnt want to settle for a draw. I was still a pawn up, but somehow I got carried away. Such things are very hard to explain, sometimes theres no rational way to explain it. It was very heartbreaking to lose from that position. Even if Id made a draw and lost the last round, Id still be champion in hindsight.

Recovering emotionally from a setback like that is extremely tough

Yeah, I never imagined that Id lose the game, you know. It was almost impossible, so it was a complete shock. But to be honest, in the last game against Duda, I just got a very bad position with Black straight from the opening. Even if I had beaten Navara, it might have gone the same way. It was a really hard two days for me emotionally, and by the time I got to the tiebreak with Firouzja, my mindset was just like, "I dont care," which is not really a healthy attitude to have going into a tiebreak, but Id already played for five hours that day, lost, and now I have to play a tiebreak straight after losing two tough games. At that point, I stopped caring. I was just thinking, "This is not how it should have been."

Was it hard to put the disappointment behind you after the tournament finished?

With me, usually after the game is the moment where the emotions are running extremely high, and I feel really bad. But then a few days pass, and I dont feel the pain so much. With Prague, afterwards it was ok. Youre able to see the grand scheme of things; its only one tournament and one bad game. If I keep crying about it, theres really no point! I try and analyze the situation, take my lessons, and just move on. Ideally, that should have happened immediately after the round-eight game, but you know, Im human.

Let's speak about some of the challenges youve faced in your life and career. You were a fairly late bloomer in elite chess terms, getting the grandmaster title when you were 18. Did you have to overcome any particular hurdles to achieve that?

When I was very young, it was not easy for me to travel to Europe and play events to get grandmaster norms because it involved a lot of financial expenditure. I got all my GM norms in India, which is not easy because there are so many underrated players. I see many foreigners coming here and losing tons of rating points. There are 1800s or 2100s, who on their good days will play really well. So, while I crossed 2500, at 14 or 15, it took me a while to get the norms which frustrated me. It would have been easier in Europe, but I couldnt afford to make those trips at the time.

I know you continued your studies and even got your university degree. Being the son of two doctors, did your parents ever expect you to pursue a different career? Where does professional chess player rank as a career choice in the eyes of Indian parents?

Its true; its very common for doctors kids to become doctors. But I used to see them getting calls at 2 a.m. and then rushing to the hospital to attend the patients, and I decided this is not for me. Id rather get my nine hours of sleep and then play a game at 3 p.m.!

There is stress and all, but when I compare it to many other professions, the routine is kind of relaxed for chess if you dont play too many events.

Theres so many good Indian players at all levels of the game. How difficult was it to stand out and establish yourself amid the competition?

I mean, there was always a healthy competition, and that kind of pushes you in a way because you know that someone is breathing at your neck, so you have to keep running and keep improving. In a way it motivates you, but serious competition also has its downsides. I was not sure about my strength until I crossed 2700. That gave me some relief because it was a big barrier for me, and until then, I had similar ratings to many of my colleagues. After that, theres always a big competition coming up. But for me, it motivates me if theres someone ready to take my spot.

Now, there are less than 30 rating points separating you and the legend that is Vishy Anand, who been Indian number-one for so many years. How much of a motivation is it for you to surpass him as your countrys leading player?

Its not that I think of it all the time. I know that if I play well, it will happen on its own, so its kind of pointless to focus on. I just want to improve my game. It will happen sooner or later if I do the right things. If I keep playing as I did in Prague until round seven, it will happen!

The biggest difference it would make, rather than me feeling great about it, would be to help me get sponsorship. Because Vishy is a legend, hes been Indian number-one for countless years, and to pass him would be a big deal for people who are interested in the game. And then I could invest that in my career.

Finally, give us a sense of the Vidit away from the board. What hobbies do you have to take your mind off chess?

I like to play sports, like any kind of game. Ive not played football and tennis that much, but I like to play basketball, swimmingcricket in India is a big thing of course. All these sports I love. I also love reading; I always have my Kindle with me. Not just chess literature but any other literature. I wouldnt be bored if you gave me my Kindle and locked me in a room for a week on the condition that there were not only chess books. I would get bored if that was the case!

So if you have to self-quarantine in the next couple of months, it wont be too bad for you!

Haha, certain conditions apply with that!

Read more:

Vidit Gujrathi Interview: I was expecting the Candidates to be postponed - Chess.com

With events cancelled around the world due to coronavirus, what else is there for the sports-starved fan to do but turn to arguably the world's most challenginggame for the mind: chess.

The 2020 Candidates Tournament, one of the biggest events in the game's calendar, kicked off in Russia this week with an unexpected flurry of interest.

As one of the only international competitions still taking place, a peak of one million people in China alone tuned into coverage of the first day, world governing body FIDE said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the online broadcasterchess24.com, which providesmove-by-move commentary in Englishto a more Western audience, reported a 500 per centspike in viewers.

The tournament began on Monday in a luxury hotel in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg - despite Russia suspending all basketball, football and ice hockey fixtures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

It sees eight players compete for 500,000 euros (460,000) and the chance to face off against the current king of chess Magnus Carlsen, who has reigned as world champion since 2013.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, Russia's former deputy prime minister, said: "This is a big event not just for the chess world but, possibly, for the whole sporting community since almost all international competitions have been canceled due to the spread of the coronavirus."

Sebastian Kuhnert, the CEO ofchess24, added: "With so many people at home and in the absence of other sports, we have seen an unprecedented level of interest in our coverage of the Candidates Tournament which is essentially a World Championship qualification event in the chess world and the second-most important chess event this year."

However, the Candidates tournament has not been entirely untouched by the pandemic. Chinese hope Ding Liren was quarantined for two weeks beforehand while the US number one Fabiano Caruana had his flight cancelled and had to reschedule.

FIDE has banned live spectators to limit the risks linked to the pandemic and announced it is testing all players and staff. Chess players in big matches also traditionally shake hands with a special guest who is given the honour of making the ceremonial first move.

But when chess legend Anatoly Karpov offered his hand in front of the cameras to fellow countryman Ian Nepomniachtchi, he awkwardly pulled back.

See more here:

With most sport off the table due to coronavirus, fans turn to chess - Telegraph.co.uk

Baseballs malfeasance sign-stealing or otherwise has nothing on chess. At prestigious live tournaments and among thousands of others playing daily online, cheating is a scourge. Whether its a secret buzzer planted in a shoe, a smartphone smuggled into the bathroom, a particular flavor of yogurt delivered at a key moment or just online players using computerized chess programs chess has perhaps more cheating than any other game in the world.

In both chess and baseball, both real and rumored instances of cheating have been around for decades, but an explosion in technology and data over the past 10 to 15 years has made the problem much harder to curb for both. In chess, players at live tournaments are now required to leave their phones behind and pass through metal detectors before entering the playing area. Some have even been asked to remove clothing and been searched. And some tournaments now put players behind one-way mirrors to limit visual communication.

Many chess players still try. Just last year, a grandmaster named Igors Rausis was caught examining a smartphone in a bathroom stall at a tournament in France. In 2015, Gaioz Nigalidze of Georgia was barred for three years by FIDE, chesss global governing body, and had his grandmaster status revoked for the same offense. In 2013, Borislav Ivanov, a young player from Bulgaria, was essentially forced into retirement after he refused to take off his shoes to be searched for an electronic device that might be used to transmit signals to him. A device was never found Ivanov reportedly refused to remove his shoes because, he claimed, his socks were too smelly but he retired shortly after the tournament.

FIDEs anti-cheating commission has recently stepped up its efforts to combat the problem. The group met last month and resolved to give financial support to national federations that need it to help them root out cheating, and will share detection techniques with online chess platforms. They are currently investigating 20 cases.

The cheaters have been winning for a long time, Arkady Dvorkovich, the president of FIDE, said in a telephone interview from Moscow. But in the last few months we showed our determination to fight it and I think people realize it is serious.

Read the full article by David Waldstein published Published March 15, 2020 in the NYT.

After reading David Waldsteins article, if you are up to more, you can peruse some of the articles we published on the subject in the past years. Yes, we have been following it closely.

Cheating in chess: the problem won't go away 3/30/2011 As you know the recent suspicion of organized cheating during a Chess Olympiad has led to three French players being suspended. One is currently playing in the European Individual Championship, where his colleagues have published an open letter demanding additional security. For years we have been proposing a remedy for this very serious problem. It needs to be implemented now.

Anti-cheating: the fifteen minute broadcast delay 5/13/2011 For five years we have been trying to get FIDE to implement a 15-minute delay in the Internet broadcast of important games to make organised cheating harder. A chess journalist has now pointed out a fatal flaw in the plan: it would force chess journalists to walk many yards to find out the current status of the games. Damn and we thought it was such a good idea! What is your opinion?

Anti-cheating: the fifteen minute debate continues 6/29/2011 Our recent reply to stern criticism leveled against us in the Dutch magazine New in Chess resulted, unsurprisingly, in a large number of letters from our readers, many quite effusive. But we decided not to publish any until at least one turned up supporting the views of our NiC critic. Six weeks went by until it at last came, authored by the critic himself. Now we can publish your letters.

Cheating suspicion at the Zadar Open in Croatia 1/4/2013 In this event, with 16 GMs and a host of other strong players, one participant stood out especially: the 25-year-old untitled Bulgarian Borislav Ivanov scored 6.0/9 points, with a rating performance of 2697. In the January FIDE list Ivanov has gained 115 points over his previous 2277 rating, gained in over 400 games over three years. A certain suspicion once again raises its ugly head.

Cheating scandal Borislav Ivanov speaks out 1/17/2013 Recently a 25-year-old untitled Bulgarian player scored 6.0/9 points in a strong GM tournament, with a 2697 performance. His opponents complained, he was searched, and no electronic equipment was found. Still, the case put chess on the front pages of the mainstream media, and led to intense discussions on the Internet. Now Ivanov has given the Russian news portal WhyChess an exclusive interview.

The shoe assistant Ivanov forfeits at Blagoevgrad 10/3/2013 Everyone has heard about Borislav Ivanov, a lowly FM from Bulgaria, who since late 2012 has wowed the chess world with super-GM performances. Ivanov was suspected of computer cheating, and forty GMs are boycotting tournaments in which he plays. GM Max Dlugy is not one of them, but he insisted on a thorough check of his opponent before their game. You'll never believe what happened next.

Ivanov ends his chess career 10/5/2013 On Thursday we reported that FM Borislav Ivanov had forfeited his round seven game after he refused to take off his shoes and allow the arbiter to check for hidden devices. His opponent in that round, GM Maxim Dlugy, provided all the details. Ivanov was permitted to continue in rounds eight and nine, but now has announced that he will retire from chess, as the Bulgarian new outlet Blitz reports.

Yet another case of cheating in chess 5/1/2015 When a young 1500-player grinds down a grandmaster rated 900 points above him, people jump to the conclusion that he must have had computer assistance. But the evidence is usually circumstantial and based on logical deduction. "These are just speculative accusations," readers tend to say. "Do you have any real proof?" In the latest case the answer is: yes we do!

Tkachiev: How I became a cheater in chess 5/13/2015 Grandmaster Vladislav Tkachiev is a flamboyant character. His most recent escapade: to test how easy it is to cheat in chess. He spent an hour and a half researching the subject, $30 to rent some equipment and a hidden conspirator to wirelessly send him key moves. That was enough to thoroughly trash a colleague of similar strength. Tkachiev had it all recorded on video.

New case of cheating in chess? 4/26/2016 We use a question mark because the evidence presented by IM Valeri Lilov is circumstantial no actual pictures of hidden devices or anything. But we cannot forget that Lilov has previously unmasked a notorious cheat in a similar way a player who has received a life-long ban from tournaments. You can view the evidence presented by Lilov in a 37-minute video and then tell us what you think.

Famous chess player arrested in Bulgaria 3/22/2017 He gained fame a few years ago, by playing in GM tournaments and crushing players many categories above him with flawless tactical play. Then Borislav Ivanov, who has been the subject of at least a dozen articles here, was disqualified and suspended for not allowing the organisers to check his shoes for electronic signaling devices. That finally ended his chess career. Now Ivanov is in the news again, this time for selling counterfeit drivers licenses. He faces eight years in prison.

"If a player is determined to cheat, it will happen" 10/20/2018 In the United States, there are many weekend tournaments, thanks to the efforts of many independent tournament organizers nationwide. Some of these tournaments provide significant prize money, over USD $12,000, and the chance to play against strong master level players. Georgia-based DAVIDE NASTASIO recently spoke to one such veteran organizer, Walter High, and sent this brief interview along with annotated games from the North Carolina Open.

58-year-old GM Igors Rausis accused of cheating 7/12/2019 Every once in a while we hear a story of a chess player who surpasses the established norms and achieves truly something special. At that point a thought does cross almost every chess fan's mind: Is he for real? This is the case of 58-year-old GM Igors Rausis who saw a phenomenal surge in his rating that brought him as high as 2686, gaining over 50 Elo points in the last year alone. For a player of his age, Rausis' performance was closely scrutinized. Was it just his beating many lower rated players honestly? On July 11th, suspicions of something more nefarious finally gained gravity in the Strasbourg Open in France where he stands accused of cheating with his mobile phone inside a toilet!

Read the original:

New York Times on cheating - Chessbase News

The premier events on the US Chess calendar will be held later in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns; Hall of Fame events also affected.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic, the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) against gatherings of 50 people or more, and local Saint Louis protocols, the US Chess Federation and tournament organizer the Saint Louis Chess Club jointly announce that the 2020 U.S. Championship and U.S. Womens Championship are postponed until later in the year. The events were originally scheduled for April 9-23.

Above all, both organizations are most concerned with the health and well-being of the participants, spectators, and staff. Following the recommendations of authoritative sources such as the CDC is the best way for us to protect all. While this will be disappointing to many in the chess world, we are confident that this decision is appropriate in these extraordinary circumstances.

Also affected by this postponement are the 2020 induction ceremonies for the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame and the World Chess Hall of Fame. These will take place in conjunction with the U.S. Championship/U.S. Womens Championship opening ceremony when that is rescheduled. Further details on the new event dates for the championships and the halls of fame will be provided later.

Please visit uschess.org, uschesschamps.com, and worldchesshof.org for up-to-date information. Your patience during this rapidly evolving process is appreciated.

More here:

US Championship and US Women's Championship are Postponed - uschess.org

Bury St Edmunds Chess Club has moved it's weekly club meetings to the virtual world, with online internal club games planned for the coming weeks.

Members of the club have been encouraged to log into Chess.com from 7.30pm on Thursdays and join Bury St Edmunds' online club so that matches can be arranged.

Like most sports, chess has seen league fixtures and tournaments cancelled or suspended, with club meetings at Moreton Hall Community Centre called off and no clear time frame on when they may resume.

The proposed online matches between club members allow internal friendly matches and tournaments to be played, but are more limited in terms of allowing competitive league fixtures to be played.

This is because computer software exists which can play perfect chess, which is why players must not have their mobile phones out during face to face competitive fixtures.

For reasons of tournament integrity, it seems unlikely, but not impossible, that online matches can replace the remaining competitive fixtures.

The season is currently suspended just a handful of games away from its conclusion and online chess is currently only planned to replace friendly games.

Go here to see the original:

Virtual chess boards save the day for Bury St Edmunds Chess Club - Bury Free Press

KCB Chess Club's Ben Nguku. [Washington Onyango, Standard]

The 2020 Kenya Chess Premier League (KCPL) and Scrabble National Circuits have been suspended following the confirmation of three cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Kenya over the weekend.

Chess Kenya President Bernard Wanjala said the decision to call off the games after the first round this season, depended on a directive from the Ministry of Health.

Following the Ministry of Healths ban on public gatherings and as a precautionary measure, Chess Kenya would wish to inform the public of suspension of all events scheduled for March and April, he said.

Some of the postponedevents include the 2nd National Chess Championships for People Living with Disabilities, the inaugural National Inter-Schools qualifiers, Kenya National Youth and Cadets Chess Championship.

The same suspension of the league has been enforced by Scrabble Kenya Secretary General Evelyne Njogu, who confirmed to the Standard Sports the suspension of the 2020 Scrabble National Circuits.

We wish to inform all clubs of the suspension of the season, until further notice, she said.

Get the latest sports news updates. Subscribe to our SMS sports service by texting 'SPORTS' to 22840.

Thecoronavirus outbreak has hit Kenyan sports after the country reported its first case on Friday.

Two more cases were confirmed by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday.

According to the World Health Organisation, the virus, which exploded in Chinas Wuhan City, has so far claimed over 4,900 lives with more than 132,000 people infected globally.

For More of This and Other Sports Stories Subscribe to the Standard Epaper

Original post:

Indoor Games: Chess and Scrabble suspend games - The Standard

Ghost-Spider #8 is in stores from Marvel Comics tomorrow, and we've got a preview below.

The Johnny and Susan Storm of Gwen's universe, former social media stars who went missing in Latveria for five years, have returned.

And Gwen is concerned that they might secretly have some powers.

So she seeks out the one man er, twelve-year-old boy who might have answers.

Reed Richards is not an opponent one would normally want to play a game of chess with.

But when an older, far more evil version of Reed Richards is playing a game of chess with Gwen that she doesn't even know about from the shadows, that can be far more dangerous.

Ghost-Spider #8 hits stores on Wednesday.

GHOST-SPIDER #8 JAN200959 (W) Seanan McGuire (A) Ig Guara (CA) Takeshi Miyazawa Rock and roll dreams come true! It's all eyes on THE MARY JANES as Gwen takes the band on a rip-roaring multiversal concert tour! But not all those eyes belong to starstruck fans. There's something symbiotic and sinister stirring in the Prime Universe and GWENOM may have a part to play Rated T In Shops: Mar 18, 2020 SRP: $3.99

A prophecy says that in the comic book industry's darkest days, a hero will come to lead the people through a plague of overpriced floppies, incentive variant covers, #1 issue reboots, and super-mega-crossover events.

Scourge of Rich Johnston, maker of puns, and seeker of the Snyder Cut, Jude Terror, sadly, is not the hero comics needs right now... but he's the one the industry deserves.

Read more:

Playing Chess with Two Reed Richards at the Same Time in Ghost-Spider #8 [Preview] - Bleeding Cool News

Smartphones, buzzers, even yogurt chess has nearly seen it all in both live and online tournaments. And just as in baseball, technology only makes it harder to root out.

Until the sports world ground to a halt last week over the coronavirus outbreak, perhaps the biggest issue looming over professional sports in the United States was the Houston Astros cheating scandal. The revelations of their scheme led Major League Baseballs commissioner, Rob Manfred, to deliver a stern warning to all 30 club owners that there was a culture of cheating in the game.

But baseballs malfeasance sign-stealing or otherwise has nothing on chess. At prestigious live tournaments and among thousands of others playing daily online, cheating is a scourge.

Whether its a secret buzzer planted in a shoe, a smartphone smuggled into the bathroom, a particular flavor of yogurt delivered at a key moment or just online players using computerized chess programs chess has perhaps more cheating than any other game in the world.

Of course it is a problem, said Leinier Domnguez, the Cuban-born player currently ranked No. 1 in the United States. Because with all the advances in technology, its always a possibility. People have more chances and opportunities to do this sort of thing.

In both chess and baseball, both real and rumored instances of cheating have been around for decades, but an explosion in technology and data over the past 10 to 15 years has made the problem much harder to curb for both.

The Astros scheme, which helped propel them to the 2017 World Series title, involved illegally deciphering the signs of opposing catchers via a live video feed and then banging on a trash can to signal the next pitch to the batter. M.L.B. is now grappling with how to prevent similar electronic-based schemes in the future.

In chess, players at live tournaments are now required to leave their phones behind and pass through metal detectors before entering the playing area. Some have even been asked to remove clothing and been searched. And some tournaments now put players behind one-way mirrors to limit visual communication.

But, like the Astros, many chess players still try.

Just last year, a grandmaster named Igors Rausis was caught examining a smartphone in a bathroom stall at a tournament in France. In 2015, Gaioz Nigalidze of Georgia was barred for three years by FIDE, chesss global governing body, and had his grandmaster status revoked for the same offense.

FIDEs anti-cheating commission has recently stepped up its efforts to combat the problem. The group met last month and resolved to give financial support to national federations that need it to help them root out cheating, and will share detection techniques with online chess platforms. They are currently investigating 20 cases.

The cheaters have been winning for a long time, Arkady Dvorkovich, the president of FIDE, said in a telephone interview from Moscow. But in the last few months we showed our determination to fight it and I think people realize it is serious.

In 2013, Borislav Ivanov, a young player from Bulgaria, was essentially forced into retirement after he refused to take off his shoes to be searched for an electronic device that might be used to transmit signals to him. A device was never found Ivanov reportedly refused to remove his shoes because, he claimed, his socks were too smelly but he retired shortly after the tournament.

Dominguez said he did not think the top 20 players in the world cheat: It would be too risky to their reputations, he said. But he was at the 2012 chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, when accusations flew that the French team had used an elaborate cheating scheme. The French team was accused of sending text messages to teammates, who would then stand in prearranged spots in the gallery. Their location was supposedly the signal to a young, unproven player, Sbastien Feller, for the next move.

Feller denied the accusations but was suspended by the French chess federation, which said it discovered numerous suspicious texts. That penalty was later overruled by a French court.

Dominguez was not playing Feller, but saw the furor at the time and its effects even on clean players.

One of the dangers is that you get a bit paranoid about these things, Dominguez said. Maybe in baseball as well. You feel insecure and lose focus on your game.

There are players who cheat by sandbagging intentionally playing poorly in order to qualify for a lower tournament and win the prize money. There are some who create fake accounts online, build up the stature of that account, and then beat it in order to improve their own ranking. Sometimes opponents agree to an outcome and share meager prize money.

In 1978, Viktor Korchnoi accused Anatoly Karpov of cheating with blueberry yogurt. After Karpov received purple yogurt from a waiter during the game, Korchnoi worried that the flavor was a signal from someone on the outside.

Korchnoi later claimed his accusation was a joke, but officials took it seriously, ultimately mandating that the same snack would be delivered to both players at a predetermined time.

It sounds crazy, said Gerard Le-Marechal, a full-time monitor and anti-cheating detective for Chess.com, one of the worlds largest online chess platforms. But its a legitimate concern because there are so many ways to help a player.

Le-Marechal is one of six people employed by the website to combat cheating. They rely on sophisticated algorithms of statistical data, and Le-Marechal says he gets ping alerts throughout the day about cheaters many amateurs, some professionals and even the occasional grandmaster.

During a 40-minute telephone interview, at least three pings could be heard in the background, and Le-Marechal said all were alerts for cheating.

Daniel Rensch, a former junior champion and one of the owners of Chess.com, said his cheat-detection team had consulted for live tournaments to help stop cheating. There is little doubt, he said, that haptic buzzers have already been used.

The idea is that, while one person plays, another watches from a remote location and simultaneously pores over potential moves on a computerized chess engine. Then the accomplice would signal the best upcoming moves to the player via the haptic device that taps (or buzzes) a coded signal for the player.

A top player does not necessarily need to be told the exact move. In some cases, the prearranged signal could simply be: There is a winning move here. Grandmasters are skilled enough to find it.

Buzzers have also fueled plenty of speculation in the Astros scandal. Though they were found only to have cheated in the 2017 season, many suspected they continued beyond then in part because of a video that showed second baseman Jose Altuve telling teammates not to rip off his shirt after hitting a home run during the 2019 postseason.

Altuve and the Astros denied the accusations, but it has done little to quell rumors and questions: Could baseball players effectively use haptic devices?

One hundred percent, Rensch said, and it would not even be that complicated.

During his teams investigations, Rensch said, a knowledgeable source indicated that tiny electronic earpiece receivers, the size of a peppercorn, were being used to cheat in chess. The insidious miniature earbuds, which are marketed online to students for the expressed purpose of cheating on exams, are so small that they cannot be detected.

But Rensch is more concerned with the scourge of online cheating on his platform. Ever since the IBM computer Big Blue beat the world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, increasingly powerful chess engines have made cheating easy.

Its so much worse now, Le-Marechal said. You have this almighty god that can tell you everything. Its so tempting for everybody.

About 10 years ago, as rank amateurs were beating grandmasters and rampant cheating threatened the legitimacy of online chess, Rensch and his fellow owners of the site held a meeting on the topic. At that point they were hosting a million games a day now it is 3.5 million and someone suggested there might be nothing they could do to stem the rolling tide of deception.

Just saying it out loud was enough to make us kind of vomit in the back of our throats, Rensch said. We were like, No, we have to do something. We have a responsibility as a steward of the game to try to solve this problem, that everybody and their cousin with a free freaking program was suddenly the best chess player in the world.

The website also hosts tournaments for money, making cheat-detection even more critical. So the team developed computer programs that mine statistical data to prove cheating, which they say has saved the online game. They often do not even know how someone is cheating, but they can prove it is happening based on irregularities in the moves over time.

Rensch said they shut down sometimes tens of thousands of accounts a month, including some of professionals and grandmasters.

They can also spot irregularities in live matches. According to Le-Marechal, they knew about Rausis months before he was busted in the bathroom in France last year. Even some professionals whom Renschs team does not name publicly have confessed, apologized and wondered how they were caught.

I dont care how you are doing it, Rensch said. All Im saying is, what you are doing is not reasonably possible based on the data I have, and I would win in court.

Rensch and Le-Marechal believe that other sports, particularly baseball with its wide use of statistical data, can adopt their approach to catching cheaters. Dvorkovich, the head of FIDE, added that just as the cheaters benefit from technology, the authorities can, too.

No matter what the game is, Dvorkovich said, when there are benefits from winning, you have cheating.

Excerpt from:

Think Cheating in Baseball Is Bad? Try Chess - The New York Times

Nine-year-old Tani Adewumi was hoping to defend his title this weekend at the New York State Scholastic Chess Championship. The tournament was canceled due to Coronavirus. When Tani won the primary school division in 2019, he was living with his family in a homeless shelter. HarperCollins hide caption

Nine-year-old Tani Adewumi was hoping to defend his title this weekend at the New York State Scholastic Chess Championship. The tournament was canceled due to Coronavirus. When Tani won the primary school division in 2019, he was living with his family in a homeless shelter.

The story of how 9-year-old Tani Adewumi became a chess prodigy begins nearly five years ago, in a print shop in Abuja, Nigeria. Tani's father, Kayode Adewumi, owned the shop, and printed textbooks, manuals, flyers whatever his clients wanted.

But one day in December 2015, four men came in with an order for 25,000 posters. Adewumi didn't know it at the time, but they were members of the terror network Boko Haram. Later that evening, Adewumi looked at the flash drive they'd given him, and found their poster said in Arabic: "Kill all Christians. Death to western education."

Adewumi is Christian. When the men came back to pick up their order, he pretended the printing machines were broken and suggested they go elsewhere. The men didn't believe him, so Adewumi pretended to take a call on his cellphone and slipped out the back door.

Not long after, Adewumi was away on business, and men showed up at his house. When his wife Oluwatoyin opened the door, they burst in, threatened her at gunpoint, and demanded to know where her husband was.

More than four years later, sitting on a couch in a Manhattan apartment where the Adewumis have lived for the past year, Oluwatoyin shudders at the memory.

"I put my head down. I don't want to look at anybody's face because, we hear it in the movies, 'Can you recognize my face?' So I don't want to recognize anybody's face," she remembers.

Having been raised Muslim, she spoke a few words to them in Arabic, including the word "Please." They asked her if she was Muslim. She said "yes," and eventually they left.

The Adewumis suspect the men noticed the cross hanging on a wall in the print shop.

Tani, center, shares a laugh with his family big brother Austin, his mom Oluwatoyin and his dad Kayode. The Adewumis came to the U.S. from Nigeria in June 2017. HarperCollins hide caption

Tani and his older brother Austin slept through it all. "We were snoring!" Tani, now 9, chimes in from across the room. The Adewumis moved to another part of Nigeria but Kayode and Oluwatoyin continued to believe their lives were in danger. In June 2017, they left the country on tourist visas.

Eventually they made their way to Queens where they met Nigerian Pastor Philip Falayi who says he's helped dozens of families like the Adewumis. "They come to me, I help them, they move on. They come to me, I help them, they move on," he says.

Pastor Philip (as congregants know him) let the Adewumis stay in his basement and connected them with New York's Department of Homeless Services. The family was given temporary housing in a shelter located above a hotel in Manhattan: Oluwatoyin and Kayode on one floor; 7-year-old Tani and his 14-year-old brother Austin on another.

Tani didn't like having to go to another floor just to see his mom and dad. His parents, however, were relieved. "We thank God we were able to find somewhere to put our heads," says Oluwatoyin.

Tani and his brother enrolled in a nearby public school that had an active chess club. Tani wanted to join. When his mother told the coaches they were living in a shelter and couldn't pay the $330 fee, they waived it.

Tani's coach, Shawn Martinez, says the 9-year-old isn't afraid of anything on the board and "that's what it takes to beat the best of the best," he says. Oluwatoyin Adewumi hide caption

Tani's coach, Shawn Martinez, says the 9-year-old isn't afraid of anything on the board and "that's what it takes to beat the best of the best," he says.

Coach Shawn Martinez says Tani's potential was clear from the outset. "He has an incredible memory and he's very interested in what he's learning," Martinez says.

Tani is obsessed with chess reading books about it, studying famous masters and playing chess games online. Even his coaches like playing him. The day I visit his apartment, Tani sits across from Coach Shawn, concentrating, his hands gripping his head. Martinez is a chess master, but that doesn't faze Tani. "I think you're getting into trouble," he tells his coach.

Tani wasn't a shoo-in for first place in the primary division at the 2019 New York State Scholastic Championship. He'd only been playing for a year and admits, after winning five games in a row, he nearly lost the final, deciding game of the tournament. "I was winning but then I blundered," he says. It was a blunder that Tani says could've lost him the game. But before his opponent noticed it, "I offered a draw and he took it," he says.

When Tani won that tournament, his coaches eager to help the family find a way out of the shelter spread word to the media about this young chess prodigy whose family was homeless. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote an op-ed with the headline "This 8 Year Old Chess Champion Will Make You Smile."

Coach Shawn Martinez says chess is a game that "honors intelligence, character and how much you invest in it." HarperCollins hide caption

"Almost as soon as it went online, there was a huge response," says Kristof. "I was kind of taken aback by it. Fortunately, the chess coaches were way ahead of me and they had set up a GoFundMe."

The New York Times column turned Tani's win into a global story. Kayode Adewumi says they were inundated with interview requests from other countries. "Everything just blew up," Adewumi recalls. "I now strongly believe that this is God that wants to bless us."

The GoFundMe page raised more than $250,000 within 10 days. An anonymous donor offered to pay their rent on an apartment for one year. Trevor Noah bought the movie rights to Tani's story and the family co-wrote a book with bestselling author Craig Borlase. My Name Is Tani . . . and I Believe in Miracles will be published in April.

"I mean it's absolutely a beautiful story," says Martinez. As a coach, he's seen chess help a lot of young people through adversity but you have to work hard at it. Chess "honors intelligence, character and how much you invest in it," Martinez says.

He says he considers Tani "between a lion and a tiger."

"He's not scared of anything on that board and that's what it takes to beat the best of the best," Martinez explains.

Tani's mother is amazed at how her son's passion for chess has transformed their lives. Oluwatoyin Adewumi doesn't play herself, but she remembers something Coach Shawn once said about strategy: "When you put pawns together, there's no stopping them."

Adewumi says the teachers, pastors and fellow immigrants who came together to help her family might be seen as pawns.

"You might see them looking so small, but they are very powerful," she says.

With the proceeds from the GoFundMe site the Adewumis created a foundation in Tani's name that helps children "achieve excellence in learning the game of chess."

In the meantime, Tani's chess rating keeps climbing, putting him ever closer to his goal of becoming a master.

Read this article:

This Young Chess Champion Is 'Not Scared Of Anything On That Board' - NPR

A global survey has highlighted that a lot of people have been enrolling their children in online chess programs to help them develop their overall personality. As it has been proved in many studies that playing chess improves the creativity and focus of a player. Chess requires the use of both sides of the brain that helps a player to boost his creativity and logical reasoning by playing this game.

Many parents have expressed that it is important to shape the personality of children in the growing years. And they believe that playing chess can help anyone inculcate some important qualities that one requires in order to deal with any challenge in life. A lot of parents believe that spending time playing chess can help a child boost his focus and creativity which eventually helps him in understanding his academics education in a better way.

And they are consulting many virtual chess coach programs such as chess-bot.comto help their children play chess in a better manner. Another motive for parents to enroll their children in online chess programs is to teach them to handle high-pressure situations calmly. Many experts believe that playing chess helps a player analyze losses and winnings which eventually helps him build his confidence.

In the survey, many parents have confessed that children spend a lot of time on smartphones for playing many other games. They added that, in order to make sure the best possible use of their time, they simply want their children to play chess to add to the overall development of their personality.

Continued here:

More Parents have been Enrolling their Children in Online Chess Programs to Help them Boost their Focus and Creativity - California Herald