[imagesource: Illustration by Suvajit Dey]

The Queen’s Gambit put a welcome spotlight on chess and attracted new players right across the globe.

I don’t believe in the saying, “there’s no such thing as bad press” and I can’t see how the cheating scandal that is currently dominating the chess world is anything but a black eye for the sport.

Magnus Carlsen, Hans Niemann, strange accusations of wireless anal beads – this story has it all.

After weeks of silence, Carlsen released an official statement this week outlining why he thinks Niemann was cheating during their match at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup.

Further investigation is needed and will no doubt follow. This is far from the first time the sport has courted controversy, perhaps most infamously of all during the height of the Cold War. Sky with more:

The game of chess has existed for nearly 1,500 years, but in the 20th century it became a vessel for the US and the USSR to vie for intellectual supremacy – amid allegations of collusion and scandal…

Image: Friðrik Ólafsson

Ten years before his famous match-up with [world champion Boris] Spassky [above], Bobby Fischer claimed that Soviet players were colluding at the 1962 Candidates Tournament.

Controversial player Fischer alleged that the Soviets had conspired to prevent any non-Soviet from winning the tournament.

Fischer claimed three players prearranged to draw their 12 matches against each other. This meant they could conserve their energy for the tournament’s final rounds, and it was successful as Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres, and Efin Geller finished in the top three spots.

A full 40 years elapsed before Yuri Averbakh, head of the Soviet team in 1962, confirmed the drawing pact to be true.

There was also a cheating scandal involving French players in 2010:

Three French masters-level players were suspended after they were accused of using an elaborate text scheme to cheat at a tournament…

Cyril Marzolo followed developments over the internet and used computer software to establish the best next move…

The move was then sent in a coded text message to another member of the team, Arnaud Hauchard.

Hauchard communicated the optimal move to Sebastien Feller who was playing the game and went on to win a Gold medal at the 39th Chess Olympiad.

Feller was found guilty of cheating by the French Chess Federation (FFE) and sanctioned two years later. He denies that he cheated.

In 2015, chess officials discovered Italian Arcangelo Ricciardi receiving signals in Morse code in his armpit during one of the country’s most prestigious tournaments.

Officials became suspicious when the man ranked 51 366 in the world at the time began beating far better players. He was seen holding his arm under his armpit and refused to open his shirt when confronted by referee Jean Coqueraut.

A metal detector picked up a pendant hanging underneath his shirt, which contained a small camera connected to a small box under his armpit.

Regarding Niemann’s performance being assisted by technology, The Washington Post reports that it’s far from a sure thing:

The limits of algorithmic predictions are abundantly clear in the Niemann mess. Chess observers have tried to use them to evaluate Niemann’s play, only to fall into a morass of argument. One analysis finds that his play falls within an unsuspicious range while another finds his performances improbable.

“At the end of the day when we’re talking about looking at the games, there are probably only a handful of people in the world who can say whether these moves look like they’re human, or not human,” [American grandmaster and Twitch star Hikaru] Nakamura said. “There’s a limited pool of people who can have opinions that are legitimate. That also makes it very difficult. There’s really no agreement.”

Carlsen is pressing for greater methods of detection to be put in place at live tournaments.

Perhaps chess players better get used to the idea of being cavity searched before sitting down for a match.

[sources:sky&washpost]