Niemann may have been known in the chess community from before, but he really became a household name when Carlsen withdrew from a major tournament after losing to the American. Several chess experts and stars thought this was the Norwegian’s way of blaming Niemann for cheating. Thus, the 19-year-old was suddenly in the spotlight. – The situation is very difficult because he has admitted to cheating on several occasions. The fact that it is “several times” is the big problem here. That’s what Professor Kenneth Regan says to news. He is a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Buffalo in the United States. And in the chess community, he is highly respected. – Regan is known as the great expert on computer cheating in chess. He is the best in the world at it, so there is every reason to take it seriously, says chess expert Atle Grønn to news. A LOT OF REFERENCES: The American chess player Hans Niemann. Photo: news After the debts against Niemann, the mathematician – and chess player – Regan decided to check whether there was any truth in the fraudulent debts. Several years of work And there is no job for just anyone. The professor has analyzed all the games Niemann has played in the last two years. – There are other grandmasters who have been in similar situations, but they have never received this treatment. They still haven’t received invitations to the same prestigious tournaments that Hans Niemann has received, says Regan. The method he has used does not rely on chess-based knowledge, but is based on quantitative data analyzes of chess moves. – I have not actually given the speech at the party. In some tournaments, only the televised games are available on “The Week in Chess”. That means that, for example, I get seven out of nine games from the tournaments he has played. I think the number in the party is around 317, says Regan. ADVANCED: This is what the overview of the results looks like on Regan’s computer. Photo: Screenshot from Kenneth Regan’s PC / news This is the verdict After several years of analysis, Regan is clear in his case. In the past he has kept his analyzes to himself, but after hearing another analyst’s work on the radio, he chose to publish his own results. – What is your verdict? – Everything is completely normal, says Regan. – Everything is completely normal? – Yes, that’s as normal as it gets. But he cannot be one hundred percent sure. EXPERIENCED: Regan is a professor of computer science and engineering. Photo: Privat He says that despite the analysis results, it is still entirely possible that Niemann could have cheated in a tournament. Although Grønn believes that Regan’s analyzes are serious, he nevertheless says that the method he uses alone cannot rule out cheating. – No, I don’t think so. It can ignore the fact that Niemann is a weak player who always, or often cheats. But I don’t think the method is good enough to convince Magnus, says Grønn. Impossible to ignore cheating Because cheating in chess is extremely difficult to detect. Especially if you are not physically present at the tournament, according to Grønn. Nevertheless, he believes that Regan’s analyzes have something to do with them. – It is clear that Regan’s analyzes will support Niemann, and it is certainly something that Niemann will of course welcome with open arms. It is important to get support, but I may not think that is where Magnus suspects that the cheating has taken place, says Grønn. CHESS EXPERT: Green wins Regan’s analyzes are serious. Photo: Lars Thomas Nordby / news For Regan’s analyzes are only based on digital traces. – Is it possible to ignore cheating altogether? – One cannot ignore it. One can neither ignore it nor prove that the cheating has occurred if there is no physical evidence. Cheating can be, for example, that someone in the audience has scratched behind the ear once during the game. There are no computer analyzes that can capture that, says Grønn. – Magnus has said this himself, that if he is allowed to cheat once during a game, that is enough to make him unbeatable. Regan’s methods are based a lot on statistics and big numbers. And then I would like to believe that there are no methods in the world that can detect cheating in a single party or with a single move.
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Professor has analyzed all the chess games of Hans Niemann after the Magnus Carlsen drama – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
