Chess: Players now see cheaters everywhere – After controversy over world champion vs. 19-year-old twitch streamer
The world of chess has been turned on its head since a 19-year-old twitch streamer allegedly cheated in a very strange way in a game of chess against world champion Magnus Carlson. In the hobby area, too, there are more and more players complaining about cheaters.
Why is everyone talking about chess right now? As part of a tournament, there was a chess match between the current chess world champion Magnus Carlson and the 19-year-old twitch streamer Hans Niemann. Then something happens that amazes many observers to this day: Grandmaster Magnus Carlson lost the round after 57 moves.
Carlson had previously been unbeaten for 53 games, but he made several mistakes in this game. Carlson, who was playing with White in this round, was subsequently forced to resign. With only one bishop versus two pawns and a knight, he found himself in a hopeless situation. You can follow the game step by step here (via chessgame.com).
Niemann, who was also a grandmaster at the age of 19, was still considered an outsider by most observers. His surprise success made waves in the global chess community.
Netflix series »The Queen’s Gambit« has contributed to the chess hype:
First a sensation – now a scandal
After his defeat, Magnus Carlson ended his participation in the tournament, but came back shortly afterwards with an ominous tweet. Without explicitly commenting on this, he hinted that Niemann might have cheated.
Although security measures against attempts at cheating were also in place at this chess tournament, it didn’t take long for the first and admittedly rather crazy speculations to arise as to how Niemann might have cheated. For example, the theory is now circulating that Niemann could have used a neural implant to gain an unfair advantage.
The world champion then announced that he would no longer compete against Hans Niemann because he was a cheater. You can read the full statement here (via twitter.com).
Incident arouses interest and encourages imitators
It is probably also thanks to the controversy surrounding the games of Carlson and Niemann that chess is currently receiving a lot of media attention again. The crazy theories of how Niemann could have cheated certainly have a significant part in it.
Chess has become increasingly popular among young people in recent years. Niemann is far from the only chess pro on Twitch. So it’s hardly surprising that the chess.com platform alone sees an influx of 50,000 new players every day (via chess.com).
In a post on the site, they also talk about how common the use of cheats in online chess is. The platform would block around 800 accounts suspected of fraud every day. About 6 percent of all support requests would therefore revolve around the topic of cheating and fraud.
Twitch is not only making a name for itself with fraud scandals:
Since the platform was founded, around 500,000 accounts have been banned for cheating. The operators suspect that this number could double by 2023. However, that doesn’t mean that each of the suspended accounts used third-party software to gain an advantage. Players who manipulated their ELO rating or otherwise violated the fair play rules would also be common reasons for bans.
But the platform warns that cheating paranoia can also have a negative impact on the community. Not every suspicion of fraud would prove true at the end of the day. It is therefore important to prevent a culture of distrust. Chess.com assures that they will do everything possible to ensure fair competition. To do this, they have invested heavily in technology that can check for fraud attempts and automate account suspensions.
Has all the hype surrounding chess piqued your interest? Or do cheaters put you off trying online chess? Feel free to write us a comment!
It’s not just chess that is cheated on: Call of Duty Twitch streamers are regularly accused of cheating.
Reference-mein-mmo.de