Episode 4: The Cheating

​[00:00:00.00] [Rooked theme music plays]
[00:00:01.40] [Mike Boyd] I mean, the biggest cheating scandal ever is the road-biking one with Lance Armstrong. He was taking blood out of his body, putting it in a freezer, making more blood, and then putting that old blood back in so he had that extra pint. That's how he did it. You don't just bung it in, like, your freezer with, like, the peas and the fish fingers and stuff. There's a way to do it so that you preserve, and you have more blood in your body, which gives you a huge edge when you're cycling. Lance Armstrong, his position on it was-- have you guys seen the corrected winners of the Tour de France after cheaters were removed? Like, the guy in 19th place now won the Tour de France. And he probably cheated, too. He just didn't get caught. Why would you feel bad if everyone cheated? You're just the best cheater.
[00:00:53.09] [Jess] Finally, it's the episode everyone has been waiting for-- the one about the capital D device. But before we get into all the sordid details of the device itself, I just want to make sure that we're all aware of how wild and far-fetched this is. Like, it's really just bananas that we have a whole podcast episode dedicated to a device that in all likelihood has never existed in the context that it was born from, yet it's titillated the media, and the fascination and conversations that it's inspired in the chess community cannot be ignored. I think psychologist and chess enthusiast Julia Rios from the chessfeels podcast put it best when we spoke to her and co-host JJ Lang.
[00:01:40.92] [Julia Rios] I definitely walked into the scandal under the impression that cheating over the board would be literally impossible, and that no one ever would or could do it. It's come to my attention that there's lots of ways somebody could potentially do it, or that it has happened, or has been purported to happen in the past.
[00:01:59.20] So I think something that came up that was really interesting was this idea of the vast, seeming limitlessness of human ingenuity when it comes to cheating, and that was really I think how the possibility of using Bluetooth vibrating anal toys came into the public sphere. I guess what it really boils down to is I just have no idea.
[00:02:24.84] [Rooked theme music plays]
[00:02:26.22] [Ryan] But we're not just going to talk about the vibrating anal beads of it all. We're also going to explore cheating in general, the history of cheating in chess, why the sport is so plagued by cheating, and what it means for chess now that cheating has entered the 21st century. Plus, we're going to tell you about the new cheating scandals Hans, Magnus, and Hikaru have found themselves embroiled in since and separately from the 2022 Sinquefield Cup scandal.
[00:02:55.10] [Jess] Because this is a tale of vibrating anal beads.
[00:03:01.87] [Ryan] This is a tale told across centuries.
[00:03:08.74] [Jess] This is a tale of cheating, of lies and conspiracies.
[00:03:15.41] [both] This is Rooked: The Cheaters' Gambit.
[00:03:19.69] [Music fades]
[00:03:22.63] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:03:26.56] [Jess] [Ryan] I'm Ryan Webb, and I play chess and podcast, in that order.
[00:03:30.46] [Jess] I'm Jess Schmidt, and I podcast about chess but I do not play it unless I have to.
[00:03:36.28] [Ryan] In what scenario would you have to? Like, gun-to-your-head type thing?
[00:03:41.56] [Jess] I mean, yeah, if somebody held a gun to my head, I would play chess. But also, like, if this podcast did really well, and it became popular, and we had to play chess for publicity or whatever. So just as likely as someone holding a gun to my head, I guess.
[00:03:57.25] [Ryan] That's good. That's funny.
[00:03:58.86] [Both laugh]
[00:04:00.76] [Jess] In this episode, we get to talk to someone who actually is already internet famous, much more than we'll ever probably be.
[00:04:09.25] [Mike Boyd] My name is Mike Boyd. I make YouTube videos about challenges and learning new skills. I learned how to make a chess cheat device.
[00:04:16.75] [Piano music plays]
[00:04:17.02] [Ryan] Mike Boyd, who you also heard at the top of the episode, has a YouTube following of over 3 million subscribers. They tune in to watch videos of Mike teaching himself how to do all manner of wild feats, from ripping apples in half, to rock climbing, to breaking glasses with his voice. And in the wake of the Sinquefield Cup cheating scandal, he also taught himself how to make the notorious vibrating anal beads. Well, sort of.
[00:04:50.33] [Mike Boyd] I'm not sure how I first came across it, but it suddenly just was everywhere. I think it really is the Elon tweet. That's what kind of immediately brought it into, like, the limelight for me. And then when I heard about what the suggestion was-- like, he's using anal beads-- I thought that's a crazy good idea. Like, that's so easy to do. Of course, you could do that. And then I thought, well, let's-- let's just do it.
[00:05:14.43] [Upbeat piano music plays]
[00:05:16.70] [Jess] Mike made a device that theoretically could fit in one's rectum, which was programmed to communicate chess moves through, essentially, a vibrated Morse code.
[00:05:28.46] [Mike Boyd] Like, I never put it up my butt. I just had it strapped to my leg. And really, I could have just had it in my pocket. I can feel it through my jacket. It's such a simple thing that people must have done this.
[00:05:37.94] [Mellow electronic music plays]
[00:05:38.24] [Ryan] Honestly, you should really just go watch the video, because Mike is hilarious and he does a great job of talking through the programming and engineering mechanics in a way that makes sense even for a complete noob. Seriously, go ahead and pause right now so you can watch the video titled, "Actually making THAT chess cheat device" on Mike Boyd's YouTube account. We'll wait.
[00:06:03.18] [Wheel of Fortune theme music plays]
[00:06:06.62] Wheel... Of...
[00:06:09.08] [Record scratching]
[00:06:09.57] [Jess] Oh, whoops, wrong television game show music. One second.
[00:06:14.03] [Think! (Jeopardy! Theme Song) plays]
[00:06:20.40] Great video, right?
[00:06:22.71] [Upbeat playful music plays]
[00:06:23.13] Okay, whether you watched the video or not, here's a summary. It turns out it's not that hard to make an actual device that you could put up you [bleep] with minimal coding and mechanical knowledge. Mike was able to order a vibrating [bleep] plug from Amazon. So not anal beads, but close enough-- I guess not for an aficionado but, anyway, that doesn't matter-- alter its design to transmit moves to the device remotely, and then basically let the number-one chess computer, Stockfish, feed him the best moves in response to his opponent's moves.
[00:06:53.34] It's a bit more complicated than that, and Mike graciously did answer every question that we could think of about it, but we're going to save the longer version of his interview with us for our bonus Patreon content. So if you want to hear everything that Mike had to say, subscribe for as low as $5 per month and access that interview later this month at patreon.com/rooked.
[00:07:15.75] [Ryan] Mike was able to modify the device to be basically soundless and impossible to detect when properly placed unless you used an airport scanner or submitted everyone to strip searches. And it only required one accomplice to feed the moves played on the board into the programmed Stockfish engine. In Mike's own words...
[00:07:37.00] [Mike Boyd] Because everyone has access to an engine now, and lithium-ion batteries are so miniaturized, it's such an easy thing to do.
[00:07:44.34] [Upbeat piano music plays]
[00:07:44.68] [Jess] As a 600 Elo online player-- a beginner, essentially-- Mike was able to receive and play the transmitted Stockfish moves so effectively that he beat an opponent who had a nearly 2000 Elo advantage on him
[00:07:59.74] [Lively music plays]
[00:08:02.51] [Michael Groves] Do you know what? This is intense as heck.
[00:08:04.34] [Chuckles]
[00:08:05.70] [Chess pieces clank on board]
[00:08:07.52] Yeah, no, I am getting a little bit sceptical now that this is a big cheating scandal exercise.
[00:08:12.22] [Mike laughs]
[00:08:12.71] [Upbeat playful music plays]
[00:08:13.70] [Ryan] The biggest pushback Mike got to the video was that commentators were sceptical as to whether the device was, in fact, not detectable. So he made another video titled, "Does my chess cheat device get past the metal detector?" Again, great video. We'll pause here so you can watch that one, too.
[00:08:33.80] [Think! (Jeopardy! Theme Song) plays]
[00:08:39.72] [Jess] Okay, we'll sum up this one, too, even if you didn't watch the video, but you really should watch it. It's very good. Basically, there are very few security protocols, even in the highest echelons of elite chess. It's mostly run on the good faith system that you're not bringing in a helper device, shall we say. And this is mostly due to the fact that chess doesn't have a lot of money flowing into it. Even being a top 100 player doesn't guarantee that you can make a living solely by playing chess. And this underfunding extends throughout all of the tournaments, as well-- from prize purses, to broadcasting, to event planning. We'll get into this more in another episode but, honestly, it's kind of ridiculous how little money there is in this sport in comparison to its popularity and following.
[00:09:24.99] [Ryan] Even when there is higher security at elite chess events, at most, they just use the battery-powered scanner wands. There's really funny photos and videos of Hans in the wake of the Sinquefield accusations having those electronic wands repeatedly waved over his [bleep]. We'll link to it in the show notes. But the main takeaway here is there's really no way to detect an electronic device if it's up your [beep] and encased in silicone. And since, again, Mike proved that the parts needed to make a cheating device are pretty small, you could easily fit them up there with the right motivation. It's very unlikely that you would be caught if you used this method to cheat, so give it a try.
[00:10:06.58] [Jess] To completely 100% eliminate cheating, chess events would need much more advanced scanners. There's even been some suggestions that players could play in a Faraday cage, an enclosure used to block electromagnetic fields, which would disable most methods of transmission to any device within the shield.
[00:10:26.68] [Mike Boyd] So I think, like, taking the metal detector seriously, and actually having a standard, and then perhaps the Faraday cage. But I don't think that's actually necessary. I think just-- just getting the metal detectors really solid would fix this.
[00:10:42.46] [Upbeat playful music plays]
[00:10:42.82] [Ryan] Or there has been suggestions that maybe players should just strip naked to play. Dehumanizing, sure, but Hans is actually the one who made the suggestion.
[00:10:54.04] [Hans Niemann] You know, I can come to the game. I can completely strip. You want to do any fair-play check to me you want. I don't care, because I know that I'm clean. And they could literally tell me the most ridiculous thing. If they want me to strip fully naked, I will do it. I don't care, because I know that I'm clean, and I'm willing to subject myself. You want-- you want me to play in a closed box with zero electronic transmission? I don't care, you know? Name whatever you guys want.
[00:11:19.45] [Ryan] Wasn't willing to put his money where his mouth was, though. He turned down a cool $1-million offer from the adult webcam site Stripchat to broadcast himself playing chess live in the buff. Guess he's not that committed to clearing his name after all.
[00:11:35.08] [Jess, chuckling] Yeah, I don't think you should hold your breath for Hans' naked chess circuit.
[00:11:41.10] [Comical slide whistle plays]
[00:11:42.96] [Jess] You know what you don't have to wait for, though?
[00:11:45.24] [Cheerful music plays]
[00:11:45.51] The opportunity to save 10% on your very own set of anal beads.
[00:11:50.31] [Ryan] Thanks to naughtynorth.ca-- yes, they are proudly Canadian, just like us-- you can use the coupon code ROOKED, R-O-O-K-E-D, to save some of your hard-earned loonies and toonies.
[00:12:04.29] [Jess] And if anal beads don't tickle your fanny-- oh, excuse me, I mean fancy-- they have a whole lot of other products that you might like. So fill your cart, because purchases over $69--
[00:12:16.16] [Ryan, laughing] 69!
[00:12:18.36] [Jess] --qualify for free nationwide shipping across this great country we call home.
[00:12:23.11] [Ryan] This is not a gag. But you can purchase one of those at naughtynorth.ca.
[00:12:28.01] [Jess laughs]
[00:12:28.50] Seriously, though, you can really save 10% off your entire purchase by using the coupon code ROOKED at checkout. See what all the fuss is about anal beads, and let us know if your chess game improves.
[00:12:41.07] [Jess] Visit naughtynorth.ca, coupon code ROOKED.
[00:12:44.70] [Comical slide whistle plays]
[00:12:46.52] [Jess] Here's what's even more wild than the device itself. The lengths that Mike went to in his video are even more extravagant than what someone like Hans Niemann would require to cheat. Mike's device is like Ocean's 11-level planning. But if you're already an elite chess player, you'd only need Pulp Fiction-diner-robbery technique to pull off over-the-board cheating.
[00:13:13.59] [Tim Roth as Pumpkin] Everybody be cool. This is a robbery!
[00:13:15.42] [Amanda Plummer as Hunny Bunny] Any of you fucking pricks move and I'll execute every one of you motherfuckers!
[00:13:21.80] [Mellow electronic music plays]
[00:13:22.17] [Ryan] If you don't know what that very contemporary simile means, it's this: at high-level chess, the players don't need to a string of moves or even one exact move that Stockfish recommends to give an advantage. All an elite player would need is for Stockfish to tell them a moment in time throughout their game when there is a move on the board that, if played, would give them even the slightest advantage. Mike's device has been built to relay a whole entire game's worth of moves, but for a player of, say, Hans' calibre, they'd just need to know when there's a point in the match that a game-deciding move could be made-- a single buzz, not the elaborate system Mike programmed.
[00:14:05.91] [Object vibrating]
[00:14:07.99] Here's what our resident law expert David Franklin had to say about this.
[00:14:13.73] [David Franklin] So one of the interesting things that's come out during this scandal is that if you have a person who's already a really strong player, all they really need to do is get the high side, like a hand signal from an accomplice, once or twice per game-- "There's a great move in this position. Keep looking for it." And then they'll find it. So at that level, it's easy to cheat.
[00:14:37.78] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:14:38.83] [Jess] I think we need to take a second to talk about what it means to cheat in chess. You see, when cheating in chess first began, it was people helping people to cheat at chess. One of the very first recorded instances of a cheating scandal was a chess automaton known as the Mechanical Turk. I think this might be racist-- I don't really know-- but that is what it's referred to as. Sorry.
[00:15:03.79] In 1770, Hungarian inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen built a chess-playing machine to impress the empress of Austria. Say that 10 times fast. For the better part of a century, the machine known as The Turk appeared to beat many worthy chess challengers, from Napoleon Bonaparte to Benjamin Franklin. It was incredibly popular and profitable, with most who saw The Turk play across Europe, the US, and Cuba seeming to believe that the machine was beating its human opponents. Eventually, The Turk was lost in a fire, and following that, the son of the last owner of The Turk revealed the mechanics behind how the automaton worked, after almost 85 years of mystery. Perhaps unsurprising for a modern listener, The Turk was revealed to not be the first successful attempt at AI, but just a clever illusion, a device that was designed to hide an expert chess player within, and convincingly obscure them so that it appeared that it was the machine playing on its own.
[00:16:08.15] [Ryan] In sum, people pretended to be machines to gain an advantage. Now they gain an edge by pretending they're not using computers. Cheating has been a prolific force in chess from its very beginning, but the modern development of chess engines has changed the game entirely. Here's a quote from our interview with Brin-Jonathan Butler, author of The Grandmaster.
[00:16:29.75] [Brin-Jonathan Butler] The way I've looked at this cheating scandal, it has the high jinks of anal beads and that sort of exotica to go along with it. But what AI is going to mean, and algorithms in chess, is not unlike what performance-enhancing drugs are like in every sport. You know, because there's just incentives. If you want to make money at this game, you have to be at the top. And if these guys can figure out a way to get in a chess engine or an algorithm to inform their games where they're playing with the accuracy of a computer-- any computer can beat any chess world champion who ever lived.
[00:17:05.21] [Sombre electronic music plays]
[00:17:05.87] [Jess] A perfect game played against an engine does not ever result in a win. At best, it results in a draw.
[00:17:14.27] [Ryan] In 1996, Garry Kasparov beat Deep Blue, the world's first time-restraint chess engine. But a year later, in 1997, Deep Blue beat Kasparov. The accuracy of chess engines has developed much faster than the accuracy of humans. Humans have been playing chess for hundreds of years, and computers have been playing for not even a single century. And humans will likely never beat a computer at chess ever again.
[00:17:47.04] [Upbeat music plays]
[00:17:47.51] [Jess] To put it differently, a single computer theoretically has access to every game ever played online, while humans are much more limited to their own personal experiences and studies. A Super Grandmaster can train themselves to be able to see upwards of something like 30 moves ahead in any given game, but a computer can see to the very end, and not just the end of that 30-move line, but the end of any line if any variation takes place. We're talking about millions of possibilities. Here's Brin-Jonathan Butler.
[00:18:23.09] [Brin-Jonathan Butler] There are more possibilities for a chess game after 15 or 20 moves than there are atoms in the known universe.
[00:18:29.90] [Ethereal droning]
[00:18:39.27] [Sinister synth music plays]
[00:18:39.76] [Ryan] So why are we telling you all of this? Because a human cheating at chess changes the game completely. It takes it from the level playing field of human versus human to a human versus computer-- a game that can never be won. And more than that, the feeling of the game just changes.
[00:18:59.58] [Upbeat music plays]
[00:18:59.85] [Jess] One of the parts I found especially fascinating in Mike's video is when he played against the advanced player, Michael, because Michael could tell that Mike was cheating. Yes, this was partially because having played Mike earlier, there was a clear skill disparity in the second game, but it's more than that. You can see it in Michael's posture. He leans forward over the board in a way that he just didn't in the first game. He really has to calculate on a deeper level to stay neck and neck. And while he never accuses Mike outright of using an engine, Michael's hackles are raised.
[00:19:38.29] [Michael Groves] You're definitely cheating or something, because you're holding on by a thread.
[00:19:42.52] [Mike Boyd] What do you mean, holding on by a thread?
[00:19:44.08] [Michael Groves] There's a lot of tactics that each time they just don't work.
[00:19:47.08] [Mike laughs]
[00:19:49.45] See, that doesn't feel right. It just doesn't feel right.
[00:19:52.96] [Chess pieces clank on board]
[00:19:53.87] [Mellow electronic music plays]
[00:19:54.32] [Jess] And this feeling that there's something nefarious going on turns out to be valid in this case. But it also points to a larger problem in modern chess. This instinct, a sense that something isn't right, may not always be correct. Your opponent might just be playing above their level for a few moves, or maybe they've played a brilliant move by accident. But when you reach a certain level in chess, you're more able to detect when moves seem inhuman.
[00:20:25.43] [Ryan] Personally, I'm as far away from being an expert in chess as I am from being, like, a farm animal or a choo-choo train conductor.
[00:20:32.99] [Steam train engine, whistle]
[00:20:35.34] [Goat bleating]
[00:20:36.30] [Mellow electronic music plays]
[00:20:36.81] You know, theoretically possible in an alternate dimension. But I've had my fair share of encounters with cheaters playing on chess.com, and I usually can tell when something seems, well, just, like, not right. On top of that, chess.com allows you to review your game after you've played it, using the guidance of an engine. You're given an accuracy score out of 100 based on what the engine would play at each given moment. I'm being very reductive here, and it's obviously more complicated than that, but my point is that on many occasions, in many games, I have felt this feeling that I was not playing a human being-- maybe not the entire game, but at certain times throughout. Most of the time, it's impossible to tell whether or not this suspicion is correct.
[00:21:28.02] Other players also have this feeling all the time. It's why the chess world is so completely paranoid and neurotic. Once or twice a week, I get an email from chess.com stating that I have been given back rating points because an opponent violated Fair Play Policy. However, they don't tell you which account was found to be in violation, so you have no way of knowing whether it's someone you yourself reported. Just given the numbers, I'm probably not right every time I accuse an opponent of cheating. But chess.com just doesn't have the capacity to review every single game that gets flagged on a given day. But therein lies the problem. How do you regulate cheating when there's over 100 million members on chess.com?
[00:22:19.90] And I'm not the only person who feels like this. Here's chess coach and host of the chessfeels podcast, JJ Lang.
[00:22:27.97] [JJ Lang] A lot of people cheat online. And I think it's not that far-fetched, it's not that much of a stretch, to think that at least a handful of the people you're playing every day online in casual or rated games are cheating. And then off of that, to convince yourself that you're actually not cheating-- you're just levelling the playing field. Like, my opponent probably has, like, a computer running in the background and is if not checking it every move, at the very least is making sure they're not doing anything terrible.
[00:22:58.36] It's very, very difficult to base a conclusion that they cheated off of a single game. If you're making a judgement based off of the quality of play, like, you need a pretty considerable sample size. You can probably find any particular game of mine, once or twice, that makes me look so much better than I actually am, that you would think I'm cheating. But if I suddenly go from the player I am, to doing that every single time I play, 10 games, 50 games in a row, then I'm cheating.
[00:23:24.82] [Ryan] And if you think JJ and I are just being paranoid, well, maybe. But here's world number two Fabiano Caruana talking about the extent of cheating online in his C-Squared Podcast.
[00:23:39.20] [Fabiano Caruana] When we spoke to Kramnik, he estimated that 25% of people were cheating. And I would guess it's actually much higher than that. I think it's probably over half. People will probably think I'm paranoid, but I really do feel like it is about over half who probably just very-- just very sporadically, just a little bit, here and there.
[00:23:59.89] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:24:00.38] [Jess] 50%. Approximately 50 million people. It's hard to fathom. Every second player online has cheated or is currently cheating.
[00:24:15.08] [Ryan] Imagine you're an Olympic swimmer and your opponent has been known for doping in the past. Or you're biking the Tour de France. Match fixing. Sign stealing. Deflated footballs. Catching a taxi on the way to your next marathon checkpoint. But it's not a once-in-a-while occurrence. It's literally every other player.
[00:24:37.49] [Mike Boyd, with reverb] Why would you feel bad if everyone cheated? You're just the best cheater.
[00:24:42.08] [Upbeat piano music plays]
[00:24:42.46] [Jess] We're going to hear a lot more from Bill the Mental Game Coach next episode when we talk about sportsmanship and some of the psychology of chess, but for now, here's his take on why he thinks people cheat.
[00:24:54.73] [Bill Cole] Pressure makes us do weird things. That's why people cheat, not because they're evil or mean. Now, they could be selfish and self-absorbed, and they could be a narcissist, and there could be no outside pressure whatsoever, but their viewpoint is, "I'm more important than you. In fact, the heck with you and how you feel. I don't care at all. It's all about me, me, me."
[00:25:20.41] [Jess] And here's some thoughts from IM James Canty III about cheating.
[00:25:24.94] [James Canty III] Back in the day, growing up in the chess world, you could listen to music. You know, I wish that would be a thing now, but because of the stuff now, people cheat. You have a person with you, they can have a device in your ear to tell you where to move when you walk away. And, like, you know, spectators are allowed, or they can be watching it from a transmission, or just be a random guy and, like, looking at that game. Okay, cool, and they go outside and say, "Hey, rook b4," and, like, you lose the game. That's why you can't even bring a phone-- if you do bring it in, you have to leave it at the table or under the table. People still find a way to cheat.
[00:25:53.45] [Mellow electronic music plays]
[00:25:53.90] [Jess] Cheating is not unique to chess. Cheating is just as abundant everywhere else. And it seems that there's way too many people who buy into the whole "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mind frame.
[00:26:07.64] So what's the point? If you're Magnus Carlsen, the point is that you can be the greatest of all time and hold cheaters accountable to keep the game clean, by any measures possible. Here's Ben Johnson from the Perpetual Chess Podcast in our interview with him.
[00:26:24.46] [Ben Johnson] But I do worry about the sort of downstream implications of, like, how people are going to be accused, because we can't just have the Magnuses of the world just deciding on their own who's a cheater and who isn't, and then playing them or not playing them. That sets a terrible precedent.
[00:26:41.20] [Mellow electronic music plays]
[00:26:41.56] [Jess] If you're Hans Niemann, the point is that you already think your skill level is supreme and cheating isn't really cheating. It's just a faster path to where you rightfully deserve to be. Again, if you can't beat them, join them. If half of everyone is cheating anyways, how far can honesty really get you?
[00:27:02.98] [Hans Niemann] I saw those-- view those games as meaningless, and they were meaningless. There was no money or anything attached to them. And, again, it was a childish mistake. I was living on my own when I was 16. I was financially independent, and I felt a lot of pressure. You know, I just simply wanted to-- to get a higher rating on the website. But I want to make a differentiation. When you talk about online chess and in-person chess, this is a very, very different thing. And you need to understand the difference between that. These online games, these are absolutely, absolutely meaningless.
[00:27:34.33] [Melodic saxophone music plays]
[00:27:34.80] [Ryan] But if you're us, the point is this: this is not how chess is supposed to be. There are lots of situations where you would voluntarily play against an engine-- to practise, to better your game, to push yourself to think outside the box. Chess engines have done wonders for training. The new generation of chess players can play 30 moves of memorized theory because they've used chess engines to study. But, again, you will never beat a chess engine.
[00:28:07.05] Winning at chess is an innately human accomplishment. And it's a possibility that you take off the table without your opponent's knowledge when you cheat with an engine. This is what causes so much paranoia in chess, a sport already heavily marred by madness. It's nearly impossible to know at any given draw or loss whether you earned it through poor playing or were forced into the result by a computer rather than your opponent.
[00:28:40.23] [Jess] The modern development of chess has meant that you must suspect every player, every game, every move, because it might be your opponent's own, but it could just as likely be a computer's that you will never be able to win against. And the most frustrating part of it all is that you'll probably never know the truth.
[00:29:01.61] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:29:01.95] [Ryan] We'll never know if Hans cheated at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup. I mean, legally, he didn't. But the eyes of the law do not always equate to the truth. That being said, the anal beads cheating scandal was neither the first nor the last instance of cheating in elite chess. So for the sake of some satisfaction of knowing when someone did in fact cheat, we'd like to regale you with a few other chess cheating stories. We'll start with this one, which we've hinted at before-- Toiletgate.
[00:29:36.77] [Toilet flushing]
[00:29:40.68] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:29:42.15] Prior to the 2022 Sinquefield Cup controversy, this was considered the most high-profile cheating allegation in the world of chess.
[00:29:50.04] [Jess] In April 2006, World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik played a best-of-12 match against GM Veselin Topalov. After the first four games, Kramnik led 3-1, but following the fourth game, Topalov's coach and manager publicly stated that Kramnik was using the toilet in a suspicious manner and more than regularly, implying that he was somehow receiving outside assistance whilst doing so-- probably through a phone or some other kind of device. Topalov then said that he refused to shake hands with Kramnik in the remaining games.
[00:30:28.72] [Ryan] This was because Kramnik famously didn't wash his hands after pooping and had nothing to do with chess.
[00:30:35.70] [DUN DUN DUUUUN!!! sound effect plays]
[00:30:39.11] Just kidding. They actually refuse to shake each other's hands still to this day.
[00:30:43.45] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:30:43.76] Anyway, the appeals committee in charge of the event looks into the allegations and deems nothing really amiss. But they still decide that the players' separate toilets have to be locked, and they're forced to use a shared toilet while accompanied by an assistant arbiter. I'm not joking this time.
[00:31:03.35] [Jess] In response, Kramnik's manager has this to say: "The restroom is small and Mr Kramnik likes to walk, and therefore uses the space of the bathroom, as well. It should also be mentioned that Mr Kramnik has to drink a lot of water during the games. Otherwise, Mr Kramnik will stop playing this match as long as FIDE is not ready to respect Mr Kramnik's rights, in this case, to use the toilet of his own restroom whenever he wishes to do so."
[00:31:35.96] [Ryan] Kramnik refuses to play under such conditions, and, I don't know, I totally understand. I hate having to use other washrooms that aren't my own.
[00:31:45.03] [Jess] Yeah, you get really poop shy.
[00:31:46.38] [Ryan] Yeah, I hate pooping next to people.
[00:31:50.41] [Jess] Kramnik actually forfeited the next game as he awaited response from FIDE in resolving the matter. Upon consideration, the match resumed for game 6, after the original toilets were reinstated and everyone got to poop and pee in the quiet serenity of their own washroom.
[00:32:05.59] [Ryan] Kramnik went on to win the match, but that wasn't the end. In an interview with the Spanish Daily ABC on December 14, 2006, Topalov alleged that Kramnik had cheated with computer assistance during the match, that network cables had been found in the original ceiling of Kramnik's washroom, and that Topalov himself felt physically unsafe because of alleged threats that were issued, though no further details were given.
[00:32:35.17] [John Lithgow as Lord Faarquod] I've tried to be fair to you creatures. Now my patience has reached its end! Tell me or I'll--
[00:32:41.74] [Conrad Vernon as Gingerbread Man] No, not the buttons! Not my gumdrop buttons!
[00:32:45.25] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:32:45.55] [Jess] So much like the Sinquefield Cup scandal, Toiletgate still remains today a big question mark. But it's a name that still carries meaning in the sport, perhaps due to the unsolvedness of this mystery.
[00:33:01.67] [Ryan] Oh, and one more thing: Veselin Topalov, the accuser here, also ended up being accused of cheating at an event that took place a year after Toiletgate, and you'll never guess who his opponent was. Doesn't wash his hands after he poops Kramnik.
[00:33:17.59] [Both laugh]
[00:33:19.94] This is a big theme in chess cheating scandals, this narrative of the accused becoming the accuser. Tre meta, as Zuckerberg might say if we were in France.
[00:33:31.85] [Jess] Good one, Ryan.
[00:33:33.14] [Ryan] Let's put a pin in Kramnik for now, but he'll make another appearance towards the end of the episode.
[00:33:39.02] [Jess] Fast forward to 2010.
[00:33:40.28] [Tape fast forwarding]
[00:33:42.83] French GM Sebastian Feller competes at the Chess Olympiad in Russia in September of that year with the support of his teammates, Arnaud Hauchard and Cyril Marzolo. Two years later, they will all be found guilty of cheating by the French Chess Federation for their actions at this event.
[00:34:00.77] [Ryan] All three are given different sentences based on their participation in the actual cheating, with Feller receiving the longest ban of two years and nine months as punishment for accepting cheating assistance in his games.
[00:34:15.23] [Jess] During the Olympiad, the then 19-year-old Feller won the gold medal on board 5 with a score of 6 out of 9 games won, and a total performance rating of 2708. That's Super GM level.
[00:34:29.66] [Chiming]
[00:34:33.65] So here's how they cheated. And get ready, because it's way more creative than toilet phones.
[00:34:39.70] [Ryan] They should totally make toilet phones. Poopie Talkies, if you will.
[00:34:44.93] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:34:45.35] [Jess] Okay, here's how they cheated. Marzolo was in France at the time, not Russia where the tournament was being held, and he would check the best moves for Feller's games with the aid of a chess computer. Marzolo would then text the moves in coded pairs of numbers to Hauchard. Once Hauchard had the engine move, he would position himself in the hall behind one of the other players' tables in a predefined coded system, where each table represented a different move that could be played. This is wildly intricate stuff compared to Poopie Talkies Here's what chess historian Emilia Castelao had to say when we asked about the importance of this particular cheating scandal.
[00:35:25.50] [Emilia Castelao] It was a really big deal. So unlike other instances of cheating, they were caught, number one. There was hard evidence that they had been cheating, and each player involved was a legitimate, like, Grandmaster or International Master. And even though none of the other players on the French team knew what was going on, the fact that they got caught meant that FIDE had to take discernible action against them and kind of set the precedent for what they were going to do if they found evidence of cheating at especially a high-level tournament like the Olympiad.
[00:36:05.39] [Piano music plays]
[00:36:05.63] [Ryan] We haven't talked much about this yet, but this whole scandal is one of the main reasons that modern chess uses time delays on broadcasts. In fact, that's something that's been put in place sometimes halfway through the tournaments in some events that Hans has played after and including the events of Sinquefield. The idea is that with a time delay in place, remote support like what the French team pulled off isn't possible, because it disrupts the time link between the players in the midst of the game and those spectating from afar.
[00:36:39.01] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:36:39.80] Anyway, the FFE, the French Chess Federation, reportedly uncovered the scam and found that, in total, 200 text messages were sent during the tournament.
[00:36:50.43] [Jess] As a result, Feller was stripped of his gold medal and the prize money, which he just refused to give back at first until FIDE pressed him and threatened legal action, upon which, he finally returned the stolen goods.
[00:37:03.84] [Ryan] In May of 2019, Feller was given a suspended sentence of six months in prison because his behaviour was equivalent to fraud. When he arrived at prison, he was granted his one Poopie Talkie call.
[00:37:19.65] [Jess chuckles]
[00:37:20.10] [Law & Order "Dun dun" sound effect plays]
[00:37:21.45] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:37:21.90] [Jess] Okay, we're nearly caught up to modern day. Just a couple more cheating controversies. This one takes place in September 2020 during the chess.com Pro Chess League final.
[00:37:33.45] Following the end of the tournament, it was determined by chess.com's Fair Play Team that Armenian GM Tigran Petrosian had used computer assistance in the finals. The Pro Chess League is a team event, and at the time, Petrosian was a part of the Armenian Eagles, who would go on to win the event.
[00:37:52.50] [Ryan] As a quick aside, Parham Maghsoodloo, who you'll remember was named in Hans' legal document as a known cheater, was also a teammate of Petrosian's during this win. Not to insinuate that Maghsoodloo was also cheating at this time. Just merely pointing out how small the chess world is at this high of a level.
[00:38:13.11] [Jess] After it was determined Petrosian used computer assistance to win in the finals, the Eagles were stripped of their victory and Petrosian was banned for life from playing on the chess.com server. Guess THAT'S where chess.com draws the line. To be fair, there was $20,000 at stake, so I guess that's chess.com's threshold.
[00:38:34.71] [Ryan] So here's where the drama really ramps up. Current world number eight Wesley So was playing for the Saint Louis Arch Bishops team, who lost in the finals to Armenia. After his team lost, Wesley commented in the chess.com recap of the Eagles' win, writing, quote, "Yeah, Petrosian played better than Magnus Carlsen yesterday. I need to have some of that secret gin also," end quote, referencing the gin that Petrosian said he was sipping on during the match. Wesley also pointed to the fact that two of the Eagles players had not been active on chess.com since mid-April, which suggests they had perhaps been banned from the platform at some point during that same year-- maybe for cheating? Wesley provides no actual proof of cheating, but he demands a rematch.
[00:39:26.76] [Jess] Here's the best part of all: Petrosian reacts with a very-- well, we'll let you decide what to think of Petrosian's response. Here's what he posted to Twitter. Quote, "Are you kidding??? What the bleep are you talking about man? You are biggest looser I ever seen in my life! You was doing PIPI--"
[00:39:51.40] [Ryan laughs]
[00:39:52.09] [Jess, laughing] Ryan, you can't laugh. You have to leave if you're going to laugh.
[00:39:55.69] [Ryan] Okay.
[00:39:56.47] [Jess] "You was doing PIPI your pampers when i was beating players much more stronger then you! You are not proffesional, because proffesionals know how to lose and congratulate opponents, you are like a girl crying after i beat you! Be brave, be honest to yourself and stop this trush talkings!!! Everybody know that i am very good blitz player, i can win anyone in the world in single game! And 'w'esley 's'o--" I don't know what that means. "Wesley So is nobody for me, just a player who are crying every single time when loosing. Remember what you say about Firouzja!!! Stop playing with my name, i deserve to have a good name during my whole chess carrier. I am officially inviting you to OTB blitz match with the Prize fund! Both of us will invest $5000 and winner takes it all! I suggest all other people who's intrested in this situation, just take a look at my results in 2016 and 2017 Blitz World championships, and that should be enough... No need to listen for every crying babe. Tigran Petrosyan is always play Fair! And if someone will continue Officially talk about me like that, we will meet in Court! God bless with true! True will never die! Liers will kicked off..."
[00:41:30.10] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:41:30.45] [Ryan] Well, in this case, liars were kicked off, and Petrosian will forever be known as a verified cheater. A cheater and a misogynist. Armenian Don Draper, if you will.
[00:41:44.30] [Jess] Are you allowed to say Armenian Don Draper?
[00:41:47.97] [Ryan] I don't know.
[00:41:49.59] [Jess] I already feel pretty bad about making fun of Petrosian, an ESL speaker.
[00:41:54.84] [Ryan] Are we going to get cancelled?
[00:41:57.16] [Jess] I don't know because, honestly, I think the things that he's saying are so ridiculous that it's okay to make fun of him. Like, PIPI in your Pampers? That's a phrase that just stays with you, you know? That deserves to be made fun of.
[00:42:10.89] [Ryan] Perhaps there is a need to listen for every crying babe.
[00:42:14.92] [Jess] PIPI as in P-I-P-I, not even pee pee.
[00:42:19.70] [Ryan] Pie-pie.
[00:42:20.26] [Jess] Pippy in your Pampers.
[00:42:21.30] [Ryan] Pee pee.
[00:42:23.37] [Inhales]
[00:42:23.80] Hmm.
[00:42:24.22] To continue this cheater-accuses-cheater theme, let's go back for a second to five years prior to Petrosian cheating at the 2020 Pro Chess League. In 2015, Petrosian found himself opposite Georgian GM Gaioz Nigalidze during the Dubai Open. During round six of the tournament, Nigalidze kept using the same toilet way too frequently. Where have we seen this before? Anyway, Petrosian informed the arbiter, who promptly responded to the complaint. Apparently, Petrosian had already suspected Nigalidze of being a cheater after winning the Al Ain Tournament in December of 2014. Here's what Petrosian had to say.
[00:43:07.58] [Jess] You was doing PIPI in your Pampers when I was beating players much more stronger than you! Just kidding. Here's what he actually had to say. Quote, "Nigalidze would promptly reply to my moves and then literally run to the toilet. I noticed that he would always visit the same toilet partition, which was strange since two other partitions weren't occupied." Side note, I don't think that's that weird. You're lying if you don't have a preferred stall. Continuing. "I informed the chief arbiter about my growing suspicions and asked him to keep an eye on Gaioz. After my opponent left the very toilet partition yet another time, the arbiters entered it. What they found was the mobile phone with headphones. The device was hidden behind the pan and covered with toilet paper," end quote.
[00:43:56.78] [Mellow music plays]
[00:43:57.12] I mean, yeah, that would help me in picking my preferred stall. I have a secret phone hidden in that one.
[00:44:02.16] [Ryan] I'm just picturing this guy hanging out in his porta-potty toilet fort. I don't know. It seems kind of cozy.
[00:44:10.09] [Jess] That's the end of the story?
[00:44:11.17] [Ryan] Yeah, I mean, Gaioz was kicked out of the tournament after that. But I just think it's wild that five years after that, Petrosian would turn around and also cheat. Like, I guess it comes back to that whole "cheating on chess.com isn't real cheating" mentality that a lot of people seem to have.
[00:44:29.11] [Mellow electronic music plays]
[00:44:29.53] All right, we're back to Kramnik now, and your favourite bad boy, Hans Niemann.
[00:44:35.71] [Jess] On September 2nd, 2023-- that was this year-- Vladimir Kramnik, who you'll remember is a former World Chess Champion, accuses Hans of cheating in a game that they play online. In their next game, Kramnik loses in four moves, showing his obvious protest by essentially mating himself in a line known as the Fool's Mate. Instead of mating Kramnik, Niemann resigns, refusing to buy into this protest. Remember, Kramnik himself was accused of cheating against Veselin Topalov during the infamous 2006 Toiletgate scandal.
[00:45:11.60] [Ryan] So following Kramnik's loss to Hans, Kramnik gives a 45-minute detailed analysis as to why he believes Hans was playing strangely in the match in question. Here's the only clip you need to listen to from that video.
[00:45:26.00] [Vladimir Kramnik] During the game, there were a few, well, moments which made me kind of uncomfortable. In what sense? That it was so unusual the way Hans was playing, in the sense of some moves, but especially the time management. With Hans, I mean, in this particular game, everything was upside down.
[00:45:48.98] [Upbeat music plays]
[00:45:49.37] [Jess] In retaliation, Hans posts a video to his Twitter suggesting that he and Kramnik attend an in-person training camp together.
[00:45:58.02] [Hans Niemann]
[00:45:58.37] [Speaking Russian]
[00:45:58.73] Kramnik. I just first of all want to say that I'm a huge fan of your chess, and I have been following your career, and you've been someone that I've looked up to for a very long time. I saw your recent videos, and I thought that perhaps a resolution to that would be to have an in-person training camp, where you'd be able to evaluate my chess on a deeper level. And I'd be happy to do whatever you'd like-- play games, look at positions-- and you could get a more nuanced understanding of my interesting style that you have talked about extensively. Any time I'm not playing a tournament. I could do it any time, anywhere. Completely up to you. And, of course, I could compensate you for your time, as well, as I would expect for any coaching that you would do. So please consider it. You can reach out to me anywhere, and I hope this is an interesting proposition for you.
[00:46:51.51] [Mellow electronis music plays]
[00:46:51.99] [Jess] Hans later takes to Twitter again and jokingly offers a $10,000 scholarship to anybody with evidence of Kramnik cheating during the 2006 World Chess Championship. The tweet reads, quote, "Announcing the Veselin Topalov Scholarship. Awarding $10,000 to anyone with evidence of Kramnik's strange behaviour and unusually strong and quick play in the 2006 World Championship," end quote.
[00:47:19.02] [Ryan] This whole back and forth is just honestly so hilarious. Shit like this is really what makes Hans the bad boy of chess. He just stirs the pot at any opportunity.
[00:47:31.15] [Jess] And just for reference, the scholarship Hans mentions is a nod to his own recently announced scholarship that he tweeted about on September 8.
[00:47:39.87] [Hans Niemann] Hello, chess world, again. I'm very happy to announce that I'll be giving away $10,000 to support young, talented chess players. I'll be selecting 5 boys and 5 girls, who each receive $1,000 and a chess lesson with me, where I'll discuss with them how they can make their dreams a reality.
[00:47:58.78] [Mellow electronic music plays]
[00:47:59.03] [Ryan] I mean, he can't be that bad if he's making children's chess dreams come true by giving them what we can only assume is Magnus' settlement money from the lawsuit? To me, it just kind of screams like this is just the first of many gestures to come from Hans in order to build back his public reputation. Obviously, the scholarship is his way of telling the world that he wants to move past this dark shadow that he's carried for the past year. But if he really wants to build back trust with the community, he might not want to publicly start a feud with Canada's most beloved chess siblings, the Botez sisters.
[00:48:38.20] [Cheerful music plays]
[00:48:38.97] [Jess] PS, we're saving Hans' spat with the Botez sisters for this month's bonus content on our Patreon. So if you don't already, you can support us for as little as 5 Canadian dollars a month at patreon.com/rooked to get access to that. Check it out.
[00:48:54.72] [Ryan] We'll circle back to Kramnik again, but we're going to do so in another bonus episode in 2024 on Patreon. And trust me, you'll want to hear this one. Kramnik has recently gone on a wild escapade where he's really trying to rid the chess world of cheating, but in the most dramatic way possible. He's not only accused Hans of cheating against him, but he recently called out none other than world number 3 Hikaru Nakamura, after Hikaru won 45.5 out of 46 games on chess.com. Remember, Hikaru was the one commenting on the Sinquefield Cup during the Hans-Magnus controversy, and he was also named in Hans' lawsuit.
[00:49:37.92] [Jess] The story is wild, and Kramnik is actually threatening chess.com with a lawsuit. Again, that minisode will be on our Patreon early next year, patreon.com/rooked.
[00:49:50.58] [Ryan] Okay, that's enough Patreon plugs. Let's circle back to Hans and discuss his most recent tournament victory, in which-- wow, you guessed it-- accusations of cheating are once again being thrown.
[00:50:04.65] [Upbeat music plays]
[00:50:04.98] [Jess] Let's set the scene. The Tournament of Peace took place in Zagreb, Croatia, on November 22nd, 2023. Hans is the second highest rated player in the 10-player round robin.
[00:50:17.43] [Ryan] After the seventh game, Hans is at 6 and a half out of 7. He's won 6 and drawn only 1. That's an incredible feat at this level, and Hans, modest as always, takes to Twitter. He writes, quote, "I like the moment when I break a man's ego," end quote. And he attaches the tournament standings. Now, if you'll recall from the last episode, this is eerily similar to what Bobby Fischer once said.
[00:50:46.59] [Johnny Carson] And what's the pleasure? What's the moment of pleasure for you? Is it when you see the guy in trouble?
[00:50:51.51] [Bobby Fischer] Ah, the greatest pleasure. Well, when you break his ego.
[00:50:54.44] [Upbeat music plays]
[00:50:54.69] [Jess] More evidence that Hans just really wants to be the Fischer of his generation. After winning the seventh round against Ivan Sokolov, the organizers of the event apparently increased the broadcast delay from 15 to 30 minutes, and had intended to increase it even more the next day. Interesting, considering that Hans actually spent over 40 minutes on move 20 against Sokolov. Not here to make any accusations, but 40 minutes is more than 30 minutes, so the broadcast delay here as an anti-cheating measure is effectively moot, because if there's someone potentially assisting on the outside and watching this event on a 30-minute delay, Hans would still have time to receive that message. Again, this is completely theoretical. We are just pointing out the ineffectiveness of current cheating prevention in chess.
[00:51:51.64] [Ryan] After round seven, the event organizer is quoted in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten as saying the following. Quote, "Niemann's performance is out of this world, but we have no definite proof that he is cheating. We have some indications, but we don't know if anyone wants to report him," end quote. Not sure if he is referring here to the 40-minute move 20, but either way, this is shocking to hear coming from the event organizer.
[00:52:21.97] [Jess] After winning the event, Hans yet again takes to Twitter. I'm not calling it X. I have not called it X this entire episode. I will never call it X. Hans posts two side-by-side pictures. One of them is him holding the event trophy, and the other is of Bobby Fischer at the closing ceremony of the same tournament. Hans' caption reads, quote, "Two lone Americans up against the world, facing immeasurable odds. Victorious 53 years apart at the legendary Tournament of Peace. 8 out of 9. 2946 performance rating. I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible," end quote.
[00:53:07.87] [Upbeat music plays]
[00:53:08.29] [Ryan] Okay, so our suspicions are confirmed. Hans is Bobby Fischer reincarnated. Or at least he wants to be.
[00:53:17.08] [Jess] Okay, we're nearing the end, but we've still got one more cheating accusation to cover.
[00:53:21.06] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:53:21.34] Because we can't talk about cheating accusations without bringing up the man, the legend, the GOAT--
[00:53:27.09] [Goat bleats]
[00:53:27.85] --Magnus Carlsen.
[00:53:29.20] [Ryan] Besides winning basically all the tournaments, what has Magnus been up to since the Sinquefield Cup? Well, it seems he didn't really learn his lesson after all, because on October 12th, 2023, Magnus tweets after losing against young Grandmaster Alisher Suleymenov at the Qatar Masters. This comes as a shock to many, including apparently Magnus, as Alisher's rating at the time was an astonishing 300 points below Magnus. Just for reference, the point differential between Magnus and Hans at Sinquefield was about 150 points in the ratings, making Alisher's about double that.
[00:54:12.79] [Jess] After his loss, Magnus writes on Twitter, quote, "I was completely crushed in my game today. This is not to accuse my opponent of anything, who played an amazing game and deserved to win, but honestly, as soon as I saw my opponent was wearing a watch early in the game, I lost my ability to concentrate. I obviously take responsibility for my inability to deal with those thoughts properly, but it's also incredibly frustrating to see organizers still not taking anti-cheating seriously at all. No transmission delay, spectators walking around the playing hall with smartphones," end quote.
[00:54:50.95] He then tweeted, "I did ask an arbiter during the game whether watches were allowed, and he clarified that smartwatches were banned but not analogue watches. This seems to be against FIDE rules for events of this stature." After that tweet, Magnus further clarified his stance, writing, "Just to be clear, I am not accusing my opponent today of cheating."
[00:55:15.38] [Ryan] So, who is right here? Are analogue watches actually allowed? Well, later that day, Chris Bird, Chief Arbiter for the Grand Chess Tour, references the FIDE laws on Twitter. Quote, FIDE laws 11.3.2. During a game, a player is forbidden to have any electronic device not specifically approved by the arbiter in the playing venue. The FIDE anti-cheating regs also list wallets, smart glasses, pens, watches, as forbidden gadgets.
[00:55:47.64] [Gloomy music plays]
[00:55:47.98] [Jess] So it seems like Magnus is at least correct about the rules. But, again, taking to social media immediately and potentially tarnishing this young GM's future-- has he learned nothing?! I don't know. We'll let you, the listeners, decide what to think about how Magnus went about this. I don't think it's right.
[00:56:10.07] [Ryan] So what happens next? Well, the day after Magnus loses to Alisher at the Qatar Masters, the organizers introduce a number of new anti-cheat measures, including a 15-minute broadcast delay, and a rule that all watches must be left at the security checkpoint, among a long, long list of further modifications that are so boring we're not going to mention them here. Look it up if you really care that deeply. It's written on the Timeline.
[00:56:39.55] [Cheerful music plays] "What timeline?" you might be asking yourself. Well, dear listener, do we have a treat for you. Are you tired of trying to keep all the dates and names in this story straight? Do you wish there was a one-stop place where you could view every single event in this very long chess scandal? Well, look no further, because there's a really cool free resource on the rookedpodcast.xyz website. Is that our website?
[00:57:11.98] [Ryan] Yeah.
[00:57:13.20] [Both laugh]
[00:57:14.12] [Jess] That's right! For the low-low price of free, you can view a complete timeline of every single detail in this scandal in chronological order, thanks to the blood, sweat, and tears of our very own co-host, Ryan. And this timeline is live, meaning that as things continue to unfold, Ryan is still adding new items.
[00:57:37.52] [Ryan] This is all just to say that it actually did take a lot of work to pull this together, and we want to make sure you know about it. So check it out and enjoy. If you really appreciate the Timeline , show us your support at patreon.com/rooked and access paid monthly bonus content. Thank ya!
[00:58:01.26] [Comical slide whistle plays]
[00:58:03.71] [Sombre electronic music plays]
[00:58:06.16] [Ryan] It's just a fact that no one can be trusted not to cheat, and I mean nobody, period. Take, for example, the former President of the Swedish Chess Federation, Carl Fredrik Johansson, who was caught by chess.com manipulating his ratings online-- that is, purposely throwing his games to play lower-rated players, which is just against chess.com's Fair Play Policy.
[00:58:32.86] And if one president wasn't enough, let's quickly talk about the former President of the Norwegian Chess Federation, IM Joachim Birger Nilsen, who resigned from his post a day after admitting to cheating on chess.com during a match in the 2016-17 season of the Pro Chess League. Interestingly, he was part of the Norway Gnomes team, the same team as Magnus.
[00:58:58.30] [Tape scratches, rewinds]
[00:58:59.26] [Jess] Okay, I held my tongue for the Eagles. I held my tongue for the Arch Bishops. But are you kidding? The Gnomes? Who is naming these chess teams? That is the worst name I've ever heard.
[00:59:12.29] [Sombre electronic music plays]
[00:59:12.56] Nilsen had been assisted at the time by another player in the room. Chess.com reportedly expressed their concerns that Nilsen may be cheating to the team Captain, Jon Ludvig Hammer, but Nilsen denied the accusations and nothing really came of it until his admission of guilt years later. Which, to be fair, was unprompted, and he immediately resigned.
[00:59:36.41] [Jess] The question that I have in response to both of these instances, and really in response to all of these cheating scandals, is why would someone do that? You know cheating is wrong. And yet people continue to get caught doing it every day and at the highest of levels.
[01:00:00.60] [Ryan] People in the most powerful positions in chess blatantly game the system. And maybe you're still not convinced that cheating online is a big deal, because it really does seem like everyone is doing it.
[01:00:14.58] [Jess] An article in The Guardian by Stephen Moss titled Confessions of a Serial Chess Cheat: I'm Quite Enjoying the Carlson v Niemann Fallout was published on October 8th, 2022. This is how the article opens.
[01:00:30.77] "I have a shocking admission to make. I am a chess cheat, or at least World Champion Magnus Carlsen would brand me a chess cheat. Occasionally, in online games where I have been testing out particular openings, I have used a chess engine-- a dedicated computer program-- to look for the best moves to try to get an understanding of positions. Strictly speaking, that is cheating, and if the chess platforms on which I play found out, I would be banned. But they never have, because after the first 15 or so moves, I abandon the engine and just play on my wits, usually making the litany of blunders for which my chess is noted. Any suspicions anti-cheating systems have about my perfect play up to move 15 are allayed by my decidedly imperfect play over the next 30 or 40. I am a cheat who has got away with it."
[01:01:31.53] [Sinister synth music plays]
[01:01:31.89] [Ryan] This article highlights the exact problem with online chess cheating. People feel so comfortable doing it, they're willing to speak about it publicly. Their confidence that they won't get caught by the cheat detection and probably won't get flagged by a human opponent is so great that they feel emboldened to not just cheat, but to boast about it-- to use cheating as a guise for training and improving your game more expeditiously. To think that you're entitled to it.
[01:02:04.69] [Jess] But the trouble with that thinking is it's a slippery slope. If manipulating your chess.com rating isn't a big deal, maybe having someone give you moves in the room while you play isn't a big deal. Maybe checking an engine while you play online isn't a big deal. Maybe hiding a phone in the ceiling of the toilets isn't a big deal.
[01:02:32.83] [Mellow music plays]
[01:02:35.20] [Ryan] I guess the teetotaler theme of this episode is to push back on that and say it all has to be a big deal. Otherwise, we're going to lose the spirit of what the game of chess is actually about-- a test of will between two human opponents, whether they meet OTB or online.
[01:02:56.04] [Piracy. It's a crime. music plays]
[01:02:58.41] [Jess] After all... you wouldn't steal a car.
[01:03:02.88] [Sirens blaring]
[01:03:06.11] [Ryan] You wouldn't steal a handbag.
[01:03:10.40] [Jess] You wouldn't steal a television.
[01:03:15.09] [Ryan] You wouldn't steal a movie!
[01:03:20.59] [Jess] Cheating. On. Chess.com. Is. Cheating!
[01:03:26.79] [Music continues playing]
[01:03:29.47] [Ryan, with reverb] Cheating is against the law!
[01:03:34.99] [Music fades]
[01:03:41.48] [Jess, synthesized voice with reverb] You was doing PIPI in your Pampers when I was beating players much more stronger than you!
[01:03:49.72] [Mellow music plays]
[01:03:50.14] [Jess] In the next episode of Rooked, we talk about sportsmanship and the psychology of chess-- plus, why madness seems to be so prominent in the sport. Tune in on the first Tuesday of January 2024. Until then, happy holidays to all, and to all a good night.
[01:04:09.01] [Ryan] Special Thanks to our King-tier Patreon subscribers, Gord Schmidt, Madelyn Keane, Mya Schmidt, Umaima Baig, Stefan Vezina, and the Colorado Avalanche Foundation. Their support makes this podcast possible. If you want to hear your name at the end of the show, become a King-tier subscriber yourself at patreon.com/rooked.
[01:04:32.02] [Music fades]
[01:04:35.95] [Rooked outro plays]
[01:04:40.88] [Jess] Rooked: The Cheaters' Gambit is written and produced by me, Jess Schmidt.
[01:04:44.90] [Ryan] And by me, Ryan Webb.
[01:04:47.15] [Jess] Our amazing music is by the ever-talented Lorna Gilfedder.
[01:04:51.26] [Ryan] Our executive producers are Rooney and Indigo.
[01:04:54.59] [both] Speak!
[01:04:55.58] [Rooney and Indigo howling]
[01:04:58.49] [Rooked outro plays]
[01:04:58.98] [Jess] This podcast is recorded on the traditional Treaty 7 territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the land of the Siksika, the Kainai, the Piikani, as well as the Stoney Nakoda and the Tsuut-ina Nations.
[01:05:10.53] [Ryan] We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Metis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Metis Homeland. In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we honour and acknowledge all Nations, Indigenous and non, who live, work, and play on this land, and who honour and celebrate this territory.
[01:05:31.83] [Jess] This gathering place, and therefore this podcast, provides us with an opportunity to engage in and demonstrate reconciliation. The government of Canada has not followed through on a number of calls to action that have been suggested by the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada.
[01:05:48.45] [Ryan] According to UNESCO, approximately 75% of Indigenous languages in Canada are endangered. To prevent the further degradation of these languages, aggressive action must be taken to protect and revitalize them. While some policies and legislation put forth by the Canadian government have begun to acknowledge the harm done to Indigenous languages, it still fails to address the fact that language revitalization is a multi-dimensional issue that requires much more than just funding.
[01:06:20.74] The long list of racist and assimilatory policies against Indigenous peoples, including the Indian Act and residential schools, have had lasting effects on language and culture. These policies created stigma and shame around speaking Indigenous languages, and created a hierarchy where French and English have taken precedence over Indigenous languages in terms of protection, funding, job opportunities, and more.
[01:06:50.62] Canada needs to take a more active role in supporting Indigenous communities' revitalization efforts. Without addressing the systemic discrimination against Indigenous peoples and their languages, the limited funding that Canada provides to Indigenous nations and communities will not be as effective. Whatever path Canada takes towards addressing Indigenous language revitalization, a successful policy will require extensive consultation and continued partnerships with Indigenous communities. It must ensure that these communities are acknowledged as the experts and authorities on their own languages, and the resulting policies must reflect their concerns and ideas.
[01:07:30.70] If you want to learn more, start by reading the full op-ed this excerpt was pulled from that we've linked in the show notes. Do better, Canada.
[01:07:39.34] [Music fades]