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two players sharing the prize money in one of the Selangor Opens (relax, that was long ago and the players are no longer active).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.

French players found guilty of cheating

The Displinary Committee of the French Chess Federation have found three French players guilty of organized cheating at the Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad last September.

The guilty parties are GM Sebastien Feller and Arnaud Hauchard and IM Cyril Marzolo. Arnaud Hauchard was French team captain. Feller won the gold medal on board 5 with a score of 6/9.

Marzolo was sentenced to a 5-year suspension from play. Feller received a 3-year ban followed by 2 years of community service with the federation or another association. A lifetime ban will be imposed on Hauchard and he will never act as a captain again.

According to what I understand the scheme went like this. Marzolo used a computer engine to analyze Feller's game. He then sent a SMS message in code to Hauchard. As team captain, Hauchard could move freely about the playing area. He would then stand behind the French opponents briefly. Using a coded system by standing at boards 1-4 he could then signal the computer move to Fellers. For example board 1 is A and 1, board 2 B and 2, board 3 is C and 3 and so on. To signal the c2 square, he first stands behind board 3 then move on to board 2.

This is quite a simple system but requires the involvement of the team captain as a relay for the moves.

I really admire the French Chess Federation for tackling this issue so seriously rather than close one eye and let it slip by. It says something about the integrity of its president and the committee.

Stories from beyond the board - Game throwing is cheating

The year was 1984 after I achieved my first IM norm (read about it here). I was playing a Swiss tournament in Singapore.  I had already collected a number of points and in the running for first place as well as picking up a final norm. When the final round pairings were published , everyone knew that I just required half a point in the last round. My final round opponent, Singapore's IM Tan Lian Ann , offered a draw perhaps thinking both sides had chances in the position. It was perfectly reasonable for him to expect a peaceful end to the game.

In the tournament were a number of Filipino players. From observations I determined that they were playing as a group. Basically they were fixing the games in favour of the one with the best chance of winning the highest prize. One of them was racing with me for the first prize.

If I drew it was a certainty that one of the Filipino would take clear first prize. I considered a safe draw to secure the IM title. But I felt victimized by the Filipino game throwing tactics. It was incredibly frustrating. I had to struggle every round (I played six Filipinos) while they could plan to draw or lose their games.

I refused the draw offer which kind of shocked my opponent. Instead I took a big risk. I sacrificed the exchange eventually  winning the game and tied for first with the Filipino and completed my title requirements.