French Chess Federation investigates cheating players

[Matthew Turner]

The game in question is available here - main tournament round 8
http://www.bielchessfestival.ch/partien ... heatre.htm

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

I believe that game is from the French League, so not the one in question

Good point. Here's their game from last July's Biel Festival:

[Event "MTO"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2010.07.27"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Pelletier,Y"]
[Black "Hauchard,A"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2589"]
[BlackElo "2526"]
[EventDate "2010.07.19"]
[ECO "C41"]

1. d4 d6 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Bc4 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. a4 a6 8.
a5 h6 9. Re1 exd4 10. Nxd4 Ne5 11. Bf1 Re8 12. b3 c5 13. Nf5 Bxf5 14. exf5
Nc6 15. Bb2 d5 16. Qd2 d4 17. Na4 Nd7 18. g3 Qc7 19. Bg2 Rac8 20. Re2 Bg5
21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Qd3 Qxa5 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Kf1 Bf6 25. Rd1 c4 26. Qxc4
Qxf5 27. Qxc6 Qh5 28. Ra1 Qb5+ 29. Qc4 Qb7 30. Kg1 Ne5 31. Qf1 Nf3+ 32. Kh1
Rc8 33. Qg2 Rxc2 34. b4 Qe4 35. Qf1 Ng5+ 36. Kg1 Qf5 0-1

[Peter Constantinou]

To comment simply on the chess game, the dancing of the queen from f5 to h5 to b5 and finally to b7 to adminster the final blow seems to me quite a beautiful, "geometric" manouevre. It's not often that you see the lady gallivanting and pirouetting to such devastating effect!

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Latest on this is here:

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6974

French GMs: ''We express our full support to the FFE"

An open letter signed by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Laurent Fressinet, Vladislav Tkachiev and Romain Edouard.

[LozCooper]

Latest on this is here:

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6974

French GMs: ''We express our full support to the FFE"

An open letter signed by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Laurent Fressinet, Vladislav Tkachiev and Romain Edouard.

They were the other members of the French open team in the 2010 Olympiad. Against England Edoaurd rested and the other three played in the order above, Adams and Luke drew with black against Maxime & Vladislav whilst Nigel won a nice game with white against Fressinet. As previously mentioned Feller played on board 4 and won against David Howell.

[Ian Kingston]

A few more details now available at ChessVibes. Among other things there are some comments from the French players at Wijk-aan-Zee and a statement from the organisers of the Biel Festival.

[Adam Raoof]

Still waiting for actual evidence, however.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

A few more details now available at ChessVibes. Among other things there are some comments from the French players at Wijk-aan-Zee and a statement from the organisers of the Biel Festival.

Thanks. All very interesting.

To my mind, it all raises several questions.

1) Do all national chess federations (and specifically the ECF) have a standard procedure to follow if such accusations are made about their players? What is the role of FIDE in relation to this sort of thing? What is the role of team captains if this sort of thing is raised with them at team events? Is it discussed with players at all?

2) What training do arbiters receive relating to matters like this? For example, what does an arbiter do if someone approaches him or her and makes a complaint of this nature? This question would apply mostly to International Arbiters, but possible also to other (more local) ones as well.

3) The following (from the Biel organisers, translated) was illuminating:

"However, the Festival Bureau recalls a player who complained about “suspicion of cheating”. Because the Bureau deals on a regular basis with such claims, often unfounded, the player had been told to contact an arbiter to share his suspicions. But no arbiters had been contacted as far as the principal arbiter and the organizing committee are aware of."

Then anonymous accusations were submitted about "a month" later.

I wasn't aware that such accusations occurred on a "regular basis", or that those making accusations did them anonymously. I suppose it raises the question, if anyone here saw something suspicious going on, what would they do? Confront the players? Go public with what they saw? Go public but remain anonymous?

4) "Subsequently to this case, it has been already decided to reinforce the surveillance system for the next Biel festival, which will happen from July 16th to 29th 2011."

Do lots of international tournaments that have surveillance systems now, and has that driven up entry fees and as a knock-on effect impacted the prize funds (let alone sponsorship)?

[Roger de Coverly]

Do lots of international tournaments that have surveillance systems now, and has that driven up entry fees and as a knock-on effect impacted the prize funds (let alone sponsorship)?

We don't actually know what the "organised cheating" as alleged by the FFE consisted of. My guess would be that it's pretty low tech - basically communicating messages to players (by whispered conversations or possibly gestures) about the opinions of chess engines. Players have never been allowed to discuss games whilst they are in progress, the difference now is that whilst historically there was little a lower ranked player could do to assist a higher ranked player, with powerful engines such advice may well be useful.

Measures that organisers can take are relatively limited - enforce the prohibition against discussing the game whilst in progress is one, another would be to segregate spectators with laptops or active communication devices from the players. They (the spectators with laptops) probably have to be out of eye contact with players as well. You could introduce or continue with a delay in live game transmission, but this doesn't prevent assistance coming from the live audience.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Measures that organisers can take are relatively limited

Yeah, I'm guessing that glass boxes and supervised toilet breaks would be an over-reaction... But I thought the surveillance referred to actual technology being used to detect technology (i.e. hidden devices). If they just meant arbiters watching for foul play, I'd be interested to hear whether arbiters like having to do this, and whether FIDE training for International Arbiters includes this.

[Roger de Coverly]

. But I thought the surveillance referred to actual technology being used to detect technology (i.e. hidden devices).

It's not grandmasters you might need to check for hidden devices, only perhaps weaker players suddenly performing to grandmaster standard. Grandmasters don't need computer assistance every move, so it's the spectator following the game at home or in the venue that you have to watch out for if they can communicate with the players.

[Michael Jones]

I'm slightly surprised that the FFE is intending to take the matter to court; surely the body best placed to investigate allegations of cheating at chess is one specifically concerned with chess? Or are they taking the route of the Who Wants to be a Millionnaire? coughing trial - that a breach of the rules in a competition where there is money at stake constitutes fraud?

[Jonathan Bryant]

I'm slightly surprised that the FFE is intending to take the matter to court....

You mean this:-

"the Board mandated the Federal Bureau to bring the case to a penal court (sic)"


?

The translations that Chess Vibes published are pretty dodgy. E.g., consider this from the other document (translated by the same person, it seems):-


"Ask to give expression on this case at multiple times from various direct or indirect actors, the Biel International Chess Festival releases the following official communiqué:...."


The dude is clearly not a native English speaker. I wouldn't want to invest too much in the assumption that he has translated the meaning of the original document correctly (even if he might have got each word right individually).

Or am I grasping the wrong end of the stick? Do you have something else in mind?

[Roger de Coverly]

You mean this:-
"the Board mandated the Federal Bureau to bring the case to a penal court (sic)"

ChessBase translates it as

the Executive Committee has mandated the Federal Bureau to bring this case to trial in a court of law.

the original French being

le Comité Directeur a mandaté le Bureau Fédéral afin de porter cette affaire devant les juridictions pénales.

Although whether the "Federal Bureau" is part of the FFE or the French version of the CPS isn't clear.

A French dictionary translates juridiction as jurisdiction and pénales seems to mean penal. The two words together are probably an idiom though.

Difficult to see what the civil or criminal offence is. Napoleon played chess - perhaps he left something behind in French law. Consultation games aren't against civil or criminal law even though they are usually against the rules in chess competitions.

[James Plaskett]

Interested to hear a comparison with the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? coughing scandal.
My support for the three people convicted of that has already led to two radio interviews, one Podcast and sympathetic articles in The Daily Mail of October 9th 2004 and The Guardian of June 2006.
My essay at my site devoted to that topic is currently under reconstruction -
http://www.themillionairethree.com/

Indifference to what goes on in chess is one of my four reasons for no longer taking the activity all that seriously.

It is well known that a group of masters - 4 of whom went on to become GMs - were involved in a syndicate rigging UK events 30 years ago.
No action ever taken.

In Kingpin Keene has been accused of defrauding the BCF of over 1100 quid, of being a serial plagiarist and called a "Grandfraudster" in the latest edition in a 13 page feature which accuses him of seven figure deceptions.
No action taken by him.

And a pamphlet has been published alleging that the brother of the President of FIDE was involved in the murder of a journalist who was publishing a critical newspaper in Kalmykia and who had been warned that she would be killed before she was knifed to death.
Everyone still playing in FIDE events.