Cheating in Chess has been a hot topic thanks to high-profile accusations from top players. Ilya Merenzon, the CEO of World Chess, explained to Dexerto the most common ways players cheat.
Cheating in over-the-board chess is not as pervasive or crafty as some people may think. Following Magnus Carlsen’s accusations against Hans Niemann in 2022, multiple theories cropped up over how the young American could have cheated and not been detected.
One of the more popular ones was that Niemann had an object inside his body that would vibrate to tell him what moves to play.
In reality, cheating at the highest level of the game is rather simple, and often involves players sneaking a look at a phone.
Merenzon, who helped put on the Clash of Blames event which included high-level anti-cheat provisions, laid out common ways players cheat, and how World Chess events keep their tournaments on lock.
Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen played a full match for the first time since the accusations in September.
“Our range of measures includes evaluating radio signals, signaling from the audience, theft and even ensuring smartphones are not brought into the tournament,” Merenzon said.
“A device such as a smartphone has more computing power than humans, so getting the phone into a tournament can give a player a huge advantage.”
The most recent cheating scandal that rocked the chess world, which had conclusive evidence of cheating, happened at the 2024 Chicago Open. A player was caught using a phone in his lap while at the board to help him make moves.
Other instances of proven cheating, like at the 2023 Romanian Championship and the 2019 case of Igors Rausis, involved players going to the bathroom during games to use their phones.
While accusations of players gaining an illicit advantage in online chess have been thrown around at a high rate in recent years, examples of in-person cheating are fairly low. Merenzon said that his company has not had any cases of players cheating at World Chess tournaments.
However, catching cheaters is not the only goal of anti-cheating measures.
“The main goal is to make sure that players FEEL safe to play, because if the player is concerned about it, their play will be different and their focus can be impacted,” Merenzon said.