On Cheating

I feel rather sorry for Sébastien Fellers in the cheating scandal. Not that I doubt that the cheating really took place. All evidence proves it (the SMS messages with the coded moves were available, though not admissible to the Ethics Commission due to French privacy laws).

I feel sorry because he is just a young 19 year old boy. Not everyone of his age have a clear concept of right and wrong. I think he was manipulated into it because of his friendship with Cyril Marzolo ( the operator of the computer engine). I believe Marzolo engineered the whole scheme to make money (the cheating apparently started at the 2010 Paris Championship where Feller took first place).

Feller's chess career and reputation is probably doomed. There is a three year ban on him though it is not clear whether this is just applicable in France or everywhere. A top junior grandmaster like him also depends on being paid to play in open team events e.g the Bundesliga league in Germany. Invitations to round robin events with the attendant appearance fee and possible prize money is gone. There might also be sponsorship money involved. He can say goodbye to all these now - no one will touch him with a ten-foot pole.

Let's face it, we cannot pretend that cheating does not happen. Buying and selling happens. There are players who can be counted on to lose a game for a price so that the buyer can get a title norm or win a major prize. Locally, I personally witnessed two players sharing the prize money in one of the Selangor Opens (relax, that was long ago and the players are no longer active). I was also shocked to learn about games being manipulated to achieve certain results at junior and even scholastic level.

I hope this Feller incident will show our own players that cheating does not pay off in the long run.