Cheating In Chess

There is more money involved in the elite levels of chess than most people realize. It is not surprising that people cheat. Grandmaster At Center Of Chess World Scandal Likely Cheated More Than 100 Times, Investigation Finds

Hans Niemann, the 19-year-old American grandmaster who last month was accused of cheating by World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen after a shocking upset, was found to have “likely cheated” more than 100 times, according to an investigation by Chess.com, the world’s largest online chess platform.

Neimann admitted to allegations of cheating on Chess.com, and was banned from the site. Chess.com also evaluated his playing at in person games.

While the Chess.com investigation largely focused on Niemann’s online games, the report noted that his rise in rankings for in-person chess was “statistically extraordinary” and that specific games may merit further investigation (the sport’s international governing body, FIDE, is conducting a separate investigation).

FIDE, stands for the Fédération Internationale des Échecs or the World Chess Federation in English. It is the governing body for chess on the world stage.

Hat tip to Vox Populi, who notes:

One thing that I found interesting about the scandal was the way that Niemann was defended by chess Gammas on Reddit. They were vehemently accusing Carlson of being insecure, a poor loser, and insisting that Niemann couldn’t possibly be guilty of cheating because it was theoretically possible that he was, in fact, the most rapidly improving world-class-level chess player in history.

Which tells us that it isn’t merely jocks and celebs – however minor – that Gammas hate, but elite performance and status as well. It also demonstrates their instinctive inclination toward dishonesty; they would literally prefer for the world chess champion to be a confirmed cheater than be a paragon of legitimate excellence.