Without once mentioning the word “cheating”, Magnus Carlsen put cheating on the agenda when he withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup via a cryptic Twitter message over three weeks ago. Since then, the situation has developed bigger and bigger – and finally the world champion made a statement in which he blamed Hans Niemann for cheating. Now valuer Susan Polgar believes that she is sitting on the recipe to eliminate more cheating in the future. – If my proposals are introduced in one form or another, I think we can eliminate almost 100 percent of all cheating. We would make it really difficult to cheat, says Polgar to news. news’s chess expert Torstein Bae is skeptical of the proposal. Here they are: Delay the TV broadcast by 30 minutes Susan Polgar believes that if the chess broadcast itself is broadcast with a delay, it will prevent you from getting help from people who follow the broadcast from home. BIG PROFILE: Susan Polgar. Photo: Private The person sitting at home can look up the best moves using a computer, and share the information through an intermediary in the room, who then gives a signal to the player sitting at the table. French Sébastien Feller is said to have done this during the Chess Olympics in 2010. He was later found guilty by Fide, together with his teammates Cyril Marzolo and Arnaud Hauchard. – If there is a delay of, let’s say half an hour, it will be difficult to get help, says Polgar, who also says that some major tournaments have introduced a TV delay of 15 minutes. No electronics allowed This is already a valid rule in chess tournaments. Nevertheless, there are possibilities of not being discovered as it is today. While a phone in the toilet can be an easier way to be drawn, there are earplugs that are so small that they are not detected by metal detectors. Polgar is unsure of how to detect the small ear plugs. – It is difficult, but that is the problem with all cheating and fraud. We must try to keep up, and do more to prevent it. If you know the newest and most difficult way to cheat, I believe that Fide and other organizers must look for ways to find a solution to it, says Polgar. Only adders for the first 15–30 minutes Adders can also be used for cheating. A small physical sign from the audience – such as scratching behind the ear – can be a good enough message for a chess player, if an agreement has been made in advance about what the sign means. If you ask the assistants to leave after half an hour, it will weed out potential help from the hall. – If one then assumes that no electronics are present, then I would say that 99.9 percent of all cheating disappears. If a player has a team behind them, such as at home, there is still no one who can give the information to the player in the hall, she says. – That will make it impossible to cheat. POPULAR: Magnus Carlsen attracts many fans when he plays chess. Here during Norway Chess in Stavanger. Photo: Carina Johansen / NTB First cheating offense = 2 to 5 year ban Polgar proposes an even stricter punishment for cheating than it is today. As the regulations are today, you can be punished with up to three years’ exclusion from all Fide events the first time you are caught cheating. She believes that will send a strong signal to chess players. – If the fear of punishment is strong enough, most people will probably avoid cheating, just like in life. If you can end up in prison, get a fine or lose your license, people tend to be more careful. Second cheating behavior = Banned for life Should someone find themselves cheating again, Polgar does not want to give them a second chance. While the current regulations open up to a 15-year ban from all Fide events, Polgar wants the player to be banned for life if it is the second time they are caught cheating. She says that with a pinch of salt. – These are very general guidelines, in the same way as how long the delay time on TV should be, says Polgar. She believes that points four and five in particular will prevent cheating at a lower level. While many of her proposals have already been introduced in elite tournaments such as the World Cup, Olympics and Sinquefield Cup, many of the tournaments at a lower level do not have the same capacity or resources to do so. – Cheating in chess has been a huge problem for many years. And especially at a lower level, it really is a serious problem. Scaring players with potential consequences makes one think twice, says Polgar. Chess expert skeptical of several proposals news’s chess expert Torstein Bae thinks most people agree when talking about banning after cheating. But he fears the proposal could ruin the experience for TV viewers and the public. – What we are heading towards is that chess players become isolated in “real time”. Then we can end up with the player sitting in a cage for four hours and saying afterwards that he or she won, says Bae. REACTS: news’s chess expert Torstein Bae. Photo: Erik Johansen / NTB He comes up with an example: – A delayed broadcast is not favorable in terms of TV. It will be a bit like an international match starts at 8pm, but you don’t see it until 8.30pm on TV. What about the audience? Should they also be ignored? Then they must have strict rules not to communicate with the outside world, and then you are as far, Bae believes. Considering that there are other ways to cheat online, Bae believes that chess can return to a more traditional form. – Online chess is turning the tide a bit. We all know there is a colossal problem with online cheating. Perhaps this could lead to more face-to-face games. It is more difficult to cheat then, points out the chess expert.
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Susan Polgar claims she has the solution to get rid of cheating for good – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
