Let’s be honest: chess can be challenging. You spend years learning openings, grinding tactics, and memorizing endgames, only to get destroyed by some teenager who barely looks at the board. It’s tempting to wonder: “What if I just… cheated?”
Before you go down that path, let’s take a look at the sneaky, scandalous, and downright ridiculous ways people have tried to cheat in chess. Spoiler alert: It almost always ends badly.
How Chess Players Cheat Online
Online chess is a cheater paradise. If you’ve ever been obliterated in blitz or rapid chess by someone with a 99% accuracy rate, congratulations, there’s a high chance you played against Stockfish. Here’s how some players try (and usually fail) to get away with it:
- The “Alt Account” Gambit: Some players use a second account to boost their main account’s rating. It’s like playing against yourself and still coming up short.
- Engine Assistance: Opening another tab with Stockfish running? Classic move, but chess websites have anti-cheat detection that can sniff out an Alpha Zero-fueled genius in minutes.
- The “Bathroom Break” Strategy:
Taking an unusually long break in a crucial position? We see you, and so do the arbiters.
Over-the-Board Trickery
Over-the-board (OTB) cheating is next level. You’re in front of actual human beings, so you need some serious nerve (or a lack of morals). Here’s what some players have tried:
- The “Accomplice” Method: Whispering moves to a friend in the audience? Not as subtle as you think.
- Weird Body Signals: A cough for a good move, a scratch for a bad one? It may work once. Eventually, someone will notice you itching like you have the plague.
Classic Ways People Have Cheated in Chess
Cheating in chess isn’t new. Some players have tried every trick in the book. Here are some of history’s greatest (or worst?) chess cheaters.
GM Gaioz Nigalidze in 2015
In 2015, Georgian grandmaster Gaioz Nigalidze was up against Tigran L. Petrosian in the 2015 Dubai Open.
Gaioz seemed to have a tiny bladder as he frequently took restroom breaks. Petrosian grew suspicious and voiced his concerns to the arbiters.
A search of the toilet was conducted, and a mobile phone was found. Gaioz denied ownership of the phone, but a social media account belonging to him was discovered on the phone.
Chess software, which was being used to analyze the game he was playing, was also found.
Gaioz was stripped of his grandmaster title by FIDE and banned for 3 years.
GM Igors Rausis in 2019
The “Restroom Gambit” seems to be a popular choice for cheating players. Like Gaioz, Igor Rausis was also caught using chess software to analyze his games in the restroom during a tournament.
Rausis, however, would not deny the allegations and received a 6-year ban, with his grandmaster title being stripped away.
Following the ban, Rausis retired, never to play professional chess again.
GM Brandon Jacobson in 2024
Perhaps the biggest online chess cheating scandal in recent times occurred in 2024, when Chess.com banned then-20-year-old American Grandmaster Brandon Jacobson (Viih_Sou).
It all happened during a casual spar against GM Daniel Naroditsky. The Chess.com Fair Play team investigated their unusually exceptional performance against one of the world’s top speed chess players, which resulted in a ban.
How did GM Brandon Jacobson react to this ban? He released a Reddit statement revealing his ban history with Chess.com and feelings towards the current ban.
Summarily, he rejected the ban and criticized Chess.com’s Fair Play team for their silence on the subject.
How to Spot a Cheater
Do you think your opponent is too good to be true? Here are some red flags to look out for:
Inhuman Accuracy: If they’re playing like Magnus Carlsen but look like they just learned the rules, something’s off.
Suspicious Behavior: Are they constantly looking at their lap, taking long breaks, or suddenly wearing oversized headphones? Be wary.
Superhuman Speed: Are they blitzing out perfect moves in critical positions? Either they’re a prodigy or a cheater. Probably the latter.
Why Cheating is a Bad Idea
Here’s the thing: cheating never works in the long term.
You’ll Get Caught: Chess platforms and tournaments have top-tier detection methods. If you cheat, they will find you.
It Ruins the Game: Chess is about skill, strategy, and the thrill of the battle. Winning by cheating is like winning a race by taking a taxi.
The Shame Sticks Forever: No one remembers your brilliant moves when you get banned.
Conclusion
So, should you cheat in chess? Absolutely not. But should you laugh at the outrageous ways people have tried and failed? 100%.
Instead of cheating, do what the rest of us do: study, practice, and occasionally cry after losing to a 10-year-old prodigy.
Now, get back to playing chess the right way!
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