The Chess Cheating Scandal, Explained | WSJ 

Maybe he just felt the beads while seating across from Neimann.

gamers do this also -get shot by a bot is diffent than a human player - maybe the ability is the same - botlike (computer)moves

Carlson said that he is very familiar with playing over the board against top players and that it was very odd that Niemann was not tense at all during stressful parts of the game.

I dont know if he explained that but it is at least talked about that he deliberate played as he did vs Niemann to get to a conclusion himself that Niemann is cheating. Thats why he used such an unconventional opening. Niemann proved the point then for Carlsen. Listen to Niemann in the interview. He was at a complete loss to explain his movements because of that. He lied about a game of Carlsen he had studied that never happened. Carlsen played anti cheat chess inside a chess game. Truly genius.

0:51 this could be a generic stock image: "A cheater in action".

Still no proof of actual cheating OTB...

Can you link the analysis?

@@Fivetimesthree Hikaru Nakumura is commenting in the box and he is one of the top five (maybe top three) players in the world. So he knows what he is talking about.

@@doji-san its hard to prove after the game has finished,but no one can proof he is not cheating either,one day this nieman will hit his limit

@@doji-san So Hans, as we now know has cheated more than 100x in online games (read the analyis that IS 100%) . His coach is a lifelong cheater who got caught right after his last ban, he cant explain his win, his whole persona is that of a dishonest persona to the max, he has more engine correlation than any other player, but you want to give him the benefit of the doubt 🙂 Funny. They next to never catch someone red handed in OTB. Its extremely difficult. The ones they catch are mostly afterwards after weeks and months of video analysis.

True. I mean if the best chess player in history finds something to be fishy then there definitely is something fishy. Also, if Hans is actually that smart, why isn't he able to explain his lines in the analysis of the game later on?

I dunno, all chess players have a crybaby quality to them

​@@busdriverguy hans Himself is probably the biggest proof of that

lol @ your qualifying statement. weird false dichotomy.

​@@busdriverguyyeah just like how hans smash his keyboard every time he loses or drae

Dunking on a victory is classic cheater behaviour. Anyone that appreciates the effort and skill that goes into beating the number 1 wouldn’t talk like that.

He's a proven cheater so yeah, clearly he has no respect for the game.

He clearly has no integrity. He cheated.

He speaks like Trump I have never ever cheated

Although it’s true he has no respect for the game, he is actually a pretty talented chess player.

Or it could just be the simple fact that Magnus was playing poorly that tournament and Hans was adequately prepared. So many perverse conspiracy theories and paranoid imaginings.

Who was his coach? I'm new to this whole scandal.

@@CadeLand011 nah no way, dig deeper on this issue an youll see

Cry more hahaha

@@honglee6880 huh?

Cheating has become so easy in chess that with a little tech and an accomplice it will get you very far in the rankings.

This is the best comment ever made on RU-vid!

If you think this is exciting, you should try the device he used to cheat.

I know right same lol.

Laughed out loud at "small liberator" and the silhouetted guy jumps

wsj is nothing

@@afif4738 I'm pretty sure they are something.

@@afif4738 and who are you, exactly?

@@afif4738 lol suuure a gif sure

Why does the NFL allow coaches on the sidelines during the game? People should be able to determine next move however they wish. What's going to happen when glasses with heads up display, and other technology integrating humans with electronics is the norm? If everyone can make a move in consultation with a chess coach, computer, whatever.. that is the only way to level the playing field. The advice may lead to a win or loss... the good players will be the ones who take in all advice and decide for themselves. I don't consider it cheating at all.. no more than the NFL or any sports teams having AI determine statistical probability of plays... next we should ban coaches at football games and computers giving advice to players during games?

@@mysticjedi6730 You cannot be serious. The game of chess would be destroyed if the use of engines and other tools were allowed; it would literally defeat the purpose of the game which is using your head to find the best moves to beat your opponent

@@JayceSyn when I play computers I get better not by playing on easy mode, but by losing..

@@mysticjedi6730 the difference is coaches on the sideline don’t perform for the player. The coaches can talk, but the player actually has to execute on the field. In chess, since the game is not physical but mental, the computer is the one executing and performing while the player is just does what it says like a dummy. A better comparison would be if the coaches actually went out on the field and threw the ball then you’d have a point.

@@TrevJ91 when play people can have 100 people advising them and any computer they like...

I see you are a man of culture as well

Internet denizen tries castling rook first online. Fails as well.

True that. And never use two hands to grab a piece after capture. Hehe. ;)

2:15 in case anyone wasn't staring at the screen the whole time and missed it.

He is referring to this section 2:16 (First you move the king then the rook)

Ouch

How should it be pronounced?

@@jonathana.5270 fide is prounounced fee-day. Fee like feet, and day like today.

@@jonathana.5270 It's meant to be pronounced "fiddy", as in "the Loch Ness monster needed to borrow three fiddy."

I don’t know chess but i will no go outta my way to say it like this

Well, that’s a bs way of thinking. I’m not defending the guy, but it simply is. Almost everybody has cheated in some way or another in their life. So they always cheat? Here’s my own admittance which doesn’t even have any consequence on anything, since it’s just casual living room gaming. When I was a kid, I was curious and typed in or inputted those cheats I always heard of, and I played some games like that. Invincibility cheat and what not. My curiosity satisfied, I never did that thing again, since it was quite boring. There, a prime example of someone who “cheated” and never did it again. I get that you’d be more suspicious of someone who cheated in the past, but to say that once a cheater always a cheater is the typical reductionist simplification that humans are unfortunately so good at. It’s a lazy way of reasoning.

@Jmt1000 I know that, obviously, but that wasn’t my point, which you clearly missed. Regardless of whether it is innocuous and without consequence (as I plainly wrote in my comment!) or against others, it still remains the fact that having cheated once doesn’t mean one will cheat forever. That doesn’t change regardless of *how* the cheating is done: it is still cheating, and it was still not repeated. So I fail to see how my situation, despite being admittedly different, is not relevant. Why wouldn’t it be relevant? I mean, what are you talking about? What kind of “analogy” is that? I mean, it’s not even a bad one, it isn’t even an analogy. If you’re single, then obviously you can’t cheat (!) - not to mention that that kind of cheating is *also* significantly different from cheating at a game (in fact, it has nothing to do with competitive cheating). Whereas cheating at a single player game is STILL cheating. And by the way, many have cheated at single player games in order to get high scores... and to boast about it with other people. So single player cheats can have consequences after all: there are a lot of RU-vid videos about such incidents, and about such cheaters exposed.

@Just some Austrian guy with a mustache wth are you talking about? How is that in any way relevant to what I wrote?

@Just some Austrian guy with a mustache ah I think I get what you meant to say: you’re arguing that since it’s effortless to cheat in online chess then one is more prone to cheat, and that the only reason one doesn’t cheat again is because it’s too hard to. So essentially, two arguments. Ok, let me address each one, assuming that I am correct in my interpretation of what you meant to say. Regarding the first one, the ease with which one can cheat in online chess, well that may be so, but then as you said cheating on the board is not as easy, so how does that fit with the “once a cheater always a cheater” mentality? Still, I think there is some validity in the suggestion that it’s more probable for a cheater to keep cheating if cheating is easier, so there I agree. As for the second point, that some don’t cheat again because it is too hard, there I don’t really agree: perhaps it’s also true in some cases, but especially in the case I referred to, my own that is, it was very easy to cheat, so it’s no different at all. I stopped for other reasons. So it’s not always the case that a cheater doesn’t cheat anymore because it’s too difficult: it can definitely be a conscious choice. I hope I understood your point and I hope I explained mine well enough.

@Just some Austrian guy with a mustache yes, I understand that, and I already addressed it: while I agree that there is some validity in what you say, I disagree that it is the only reason, and it was not at all the reason in my own example: it was extremely easy for me to cheat again, and I didn’t. In fact, seeing how there were no consequences and I would never be caught, it was even easier: there was nothing on the line, and yet I still chose to not cheat. Clearly, it’s not entirely true that the ease of cheating defines whether we do it again or not.

Exactly, LoL

Its in his hair. If you noticed his new hairstyle its rather long...

E.g. a remote-controlled buzzer hidden on his leg, sending the recommended move to him via Morse-code, from someone in the audience who runs a copy of the game in a chess-simulator on their Smartphone.

@@pinky6758 Except sinquenfield cup and us championship allow no audience to watch only players and referees allowed in the playing hall. They also scan for signals. And they put delay on the game. And they scan players for good measure. Good luck cheating with that security lol.

They did take security seriously. Watch the video again. But now, they underestimated how deep and advance deception and cheating is. There is another video on youtube that explains this and trust me, it will make give up on life the way they talk about superior advance cheating techniques.

Unironically they may need to conduct cavity searches

@@macabree5856 Danya literally gave a very simple way of cheating OTB

@@animefan7424 Why you write that to me? What does your comment have to do with me? I don't get it. Plus, this comment thread nearly a half year old

Faraday Cage for cheating prevention and cavity search for kicks.

Faraday cage is actually a good idea. We can use X-Ray instead of the cavity search.

They should play before it is broadcast.

Niiiiiice

Exactly what I noticed! Lol

Hans Niemann did castle like that vs Vladimir Fedoseev last year though lol

@@DShadow_Vins Hans Niemann did castle like that vs Vladimir Fedoseev last year though lol

@@nicbentulan yeah and hans was wearing a cool red sunglasses :d opponent mocked the move but ignored it :d normally, it's not okay tho :d

It’s obvious that he cheated. Chess is a straightforward game; the fact that there was this many suspicious actions should make it obvious that he’s a cheater.

They have proof, Hans was tested positive for steroids!

He cheated, no doubt for me. Just take a look at his current performance and snd blunders.

whe he is strictly observed his blunders are miles behind that performance. He obviously cheated, so pathetic.

The second thing was one of the biggest ones for me. His explanations were so lackluster, and the interviewers had the chess engine recommended moves turned off while he was giving them (the first time this had ever been done). It's almost like he wasn't playing the game at all when he talks about it. His answers to all interview questions about the moves he took can be summed up with "trust me bro".

And what if he didn’t cheat?

@@longwalksguidemenerdwalk8866 Good question

@@longwalksguidemenerdwalk8866 or what if he did cheat?

@@longwalksguidemenerdwalk8866 probably he didnt he just take chess so seriously and emotionally people take it as suspicion

He did cheat, multiple times.

Oopsy

He cheated like a hundred games. Definitely deliberate.

Yes, ‘mistake’ like when someone cheats on their partner. He meant making poor choices when he was 16. ‘Mistake’ doesn’t always mean something that is not deliberate.

You're confusing "mistake" with "accident"

@@wolfson109 In this case he meant…..an error in judgement ……

Just like his win against Magnus. "The Chess speaks for itself". It does certainly because he cannot

You gotta love it. I hope from the bottom of my heart that he proves his innocence.

@@Alexander_Grant don't worry, he 100% won't

He doesn't realize a lawsuit means he has to open up to discovery. Thats why he never went through with it

Hahahaha

haha he IooKs and sounds IiKe a mad scientist!

Hans went to my high school

The dude looks like Dream.

@@angelothompson186 that's even worse when you consider...

@@technospyform1578 ik

yes coz you already repeat mistakes omfg that guy didnt learn from his past mistakes at all ever! there for we are going to blame him for eveything called Profiling bro and its illegol wouldnt stand in court. it be more insulting if i added race to this like Hes black, he commited a crime earlyer in his life there for he must be guilty of all furthur crimes that are even remotely pointed at his way! Like wow.

Don't forget my ex; Annabelle Cavatelli

Lance never cheated. Don't tarnish his name

You forgot football deflate gate…. I haven’t

its not impossible, you just need to play a lot of games. Firouzja went from 2560 to 2700 in one year, even giri from 2525 to 2675 in a year. But im not comparing his level to them though, you just really need to play more games than anyone against weaker competition. In 2021 Hans played 250 games, whereas other GMs played 100 gaining 200+ points in just under 2 years. We can speculate whether he cheated all those otb games or not but no one really knows but my point is that its not really impossible.

"Somewhere "

@@vignesh6654 *ANOLE*

😂

Cry louder

Yep, it's all bunkum. They can't prove squat.

Maybe they did, and the device didn’t use the local network. It could be old-fashioned radio.

@@thetooginator153 They already had radio scanners in that room checking while matches were on.

@@danielch6662 they changed their security measures only after the incident

When they do have official tournament games online, it is usually done on a set location or you need to show multiple cameras from different viewpoints. Chess sites have prize money tournaments such as titled arenas

Lol

There is a lot of information about his public games and their percentage correlation with stockfish that looks pretty damning. I wish they had covered that, his self-contradictions in the interview, his coach's history of cheating at TT, etc.

I feel like it’s actually problematic to not have this video directed by a grandmaster. I’m not defending GM Niemann, but it seems that because this video seems to be produced by someone outside of the chess world, plenty of important information was left out. Many other super GMs have condemned Magnus’s behavior, and this video did not discuss the evidence Magnus based his claim on (perhaps because there isn’t any). Overall, I’d say this video unfairly portrays the situation for Hans. I prefer my drama from people who are more in tune, like GM Fabiano Caruana and GM Ben Finegold.

​@@joebidet3606 Is this the first time you're witnessing journalism on a subject you're familiar with? It's always like this

@@complainer406 Nah, usually when I watch the news regarding domestic and international politics, its pretty rare to find "reporting" that is as biased and shallow than what this video was. Then again, I bet WSJ just appointed this random guy to cover the story, rather than investing time and energy to contact/reference any other top-level GM that would have something to say.

What does it say?

@@Thesamurai1999 ? Its not clear at all. You probably think that there only are monetary incentives. Which any capitalist Endeavour has every tight to. But why couldn’t it be committed to one of its self proclaimed ideals, sharing news?

it shows they are a news network citing facts not chess players. seems about right to me mr conspiracy loony

@@artful1967 Do you even know what conspiracy means?

It's just standard MSN reporting, none of their people know anything about something as old-fashioned as chess.

Twenty years ago, Garry said he knew he was NOT playing a computer. He was so damned sure ...

@@danielch6662 tell me you don't know anything about chess without telling me you don't know anything about chess

Dumb take

@@lukehawkinson9738 Great argument!

This is what I don’t like about this video. They left out that part of the Analysis. If Hans didn’t cheat against magnus, he may just be a genius.

Maybe you should use a bit of common sense. In a court of law, past misdeeds of the same nature are taken as evidence even for a completely fresh case as well. Take for example. A person is caught robbing a 100+ houses. Proven. Without a doubt. 1 year later he is found in suspicious circumstances outside another robbed house. He has no alibi. His explanation makes zero sense. You don't need to specifically prove with physical evidence that he had a hand in that particular robbery. There's plenty of circumstantial evidence and a damning history of similar crimes. You just need to use your brain. This is one of the reason every top GM definitely consider him a cheater and so do most actual chess fans. Not ones that came from watching the Queen's gambit obviously.

Right now we're Italian we used to be German the borders keep shifting around.

Swap out the Hungarian horror for the Ukrainian horror.

@@thissignupisretarded who do these foreign chappies think they are?😏

You can't play like a computer because computer doing bug amount of calculations while analyzing position. No one in the world is capable to count like that. There's some moves that every chess player will call "strange" but engine will tell you that this was the best move because it calculated everything. It can somewhat see the future no matter what opponent will play. Niemann played a shitton of this engine moves btw. And no, doesn't matter how much you'll be playing against computer, you NEVER gonna learn how to play like it because you won't be able to understand moves that it doing.

All grandmasters train with engines. The issue is that almost every chess game will eventually find a unique position. There are virtually infinite possible chess positions, memorizing a so-called “computer line” or two is not enough to play like an engine

Not true

You cannot play like computer

@@lc9991x who called it a computer line?

I see what u did there

This would "prompt" so many people to start playing chess

This is exactly like what happens, when lazy cops "investigates" crimes, by simply blaming it on any convenient ex-con they know. This is why the country is going down to the s*******.

Niemann keeps winning 🥱🥱 and crushing tournament while you haters keep crying. Keep coping

@@rejectmodernity1037 You think cheating in cash tournaments is acceptable?

There is a time limit for the games, but depending on the format, they can have a long time (an hour for the game for example), so there's plenty of time to cheat

All of them do. There are different chess types like "classical", "blitz" and "bullet" The only difference between them is the time given at the start of the game and the per move increment to players time.

@@ParanoidAandroid lets concentrate on the actual match in the controversy. The time control for the Sinquefield Cup is two hours for the first 40 moves, one hour for the rest, plus 30 second increment from move 41 onwards. That particular game went to 57 moves. But that is deceptive. Magnus was already down two points after a couple of mistakes before move 30.

15 minute delay on the stream, no phones or any devices in the room. Any spectator who wants to leave while the game is ongoing, has to stay 15 minutes in the lobby, still without their phones and devices. Toilet break? Two or three match officials accompany you inside. Use the urinals where they can watch you. If you want to use the sit down toilet, a camera on a shelf INSIDE, built so that it doesn't see anything below waist level. The video is shown right outside, where your minder can watch and make sure. You keep your hands up visible to the camera when you're in there. Modify the clocks to record WHEN the buttons were pushed. This is then reconciled with the record of moves made, and then included in an extended PGN file format that records not just the moves made, but when. This way, the whole world knows if somebody is thinking for 20 minutes to many one move. We then have more data, and can be more confident about whether people are or are not cheat OTB. With more info, if there is still suspicion, the 15 minutes can be increased to 30 minutes.

@@danielch6662 Good stuff!

@@danielch6662 good points,maybe they will know soon about how to improve the security and solve cheating problems

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Yes , he can

If it’s sme time and high level of play, it’s suspicious, but another reason could be just a troll

@animefan7424 it was a bot as suspected.

😆

Lichess also heavily inflates ratings, so its possible that they weren't cheating but who knows

I'm gonna reply based of what I understand from it comment It's not if the person had played in tournaments, otb or rated online games, but if the person used an engine during the tourney Since Hans had reports of games where he played near perfect when no one in the world possibly can do, adding the fact during interviews he couldn't answer the moves properly, and doesn't really know the idea, most likely he is cheating

If you keep your phone on you at a tournament it is meant to be turned off or kept silent, if you keep it in the locker room or an area where a staff member can look/watch over the phone then the phone doesn’t need to be turned off or turned to be on silent mode, also chess prize money isn’t a lot

🤣😂🤣😂

because - of course - we all know that cheaters are selective and rational

Found nothing but can't explain his magnificent move? Sounds believable. A lower ranking GM who interviewed him after the game outplayed his analysis.

@@iii898iii Hans didn't own those games. How could one expect proper analysis out of him?

@@iii898iii Hans didn't own, Magnus just played a bad game compared to his normal performance level (Magnus beat Hans 3-1 during that round)

It could be. Kasparov said that deep blue was playing with GM's help. Wich at that time, engines were still not strong as super GM's lvl.

@@cubitsinformatica7544 yeah I remember that. He probably still believes that they cheated and they might have. He asked for some kind of move analysis printouts and they said they lost them just to mess with his head.

thats not how chess works. There are statistics involved. If he plays more matches he would overall lose most of them.

Thats not how it works this isn't soke power levels anime

1. that's not how chess works, for the third time 2. after beating Magnus, the whole chess world went into a huge debate and he was in the center of it all, receiving criticism from most, much more stressed that his opponents and he still was able to play high level chess. Losing is understandable 3. he lost the rest of his MATCHES. He won several games.

Magnus lost because he thought he may plays an engine. Not because Hans did that well in this game. It was an okay game, but getting into the two result position was something an amateur could do with the difficulty of the moves. Evaluation you do not forget, calculating you may not do in analysis, because there is no need to think.

His performance is way too inconsistent. He couldn't provide analysis of his brilliant moves. Sounds like a fake GM to me.

Unless the tournament also wants to invite Carlsen

@@sux2beme I kind of drifted off away over the years, but this thing has really rekindled my interest. Personally, as a spectator, I'd rather much see Niemann right now. For a participant, Carlsen's presence might increase the ranking points. But then he'd beat you.

Things may turn up in the US, the way you claim but for the rest part of the world ( definitely for the Asian tournaments) he is done for. He has disgraced the game.

@@danielch6662 Depends on if you're a chess fan or a drama fan.

@@danielch6662 as someone else said, all chess fans want magnus,all drama fans want hans. The tournaments that hans is currently playing in or just played in barely received any media coverage,coz hype and controversy only excite people for a while.

He has admitted cheating before, & been caught before, which shows his character, or lack of, & disregard & disrepsect for the rules. Cheats never cheat just once, or twice - they cheat whenever they feel they can get away with it. Once a cheat, always a cheat. Prize money is a great incentive for him to cheat, & there is substantial evidence against him.

@@DougieFrank the only cheating I saw was some online games when he was a teenager. As we all know with Call of Duty teenagers love to use mods and cheat. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for a immature teenager. Now, if you know of any professional tournaments he was proven to be cheating, besides his own admission, I’d like to know?

​@@jaydenrock -LOL. 🤣🤣🤣- -Did you even watch this clip or read my comment...?- The whole point of this video & my comment is based on the fact he has never BEEN caught cheating at a professional tournament, but he has the means, the motive & the lack of integrity to carry out such an act. There is also substantial evidence against him to back up the allegations. -I really dont know why would you think I might know of a professional game where he has been caught, or why you would even ask me, when it is perfectly clear he has never been caught-

@@DougieFrank my comment wasn’t ment to argue with you. I was just asking you a question. Literally all I was doing asking if he had. I am curious if he has ever been in trouble before. I know zero about the chess world besides playing the game. I was just going by a couple videos I’ve seen. So this is someone from the outside looking in. So I could be wrong. So correct me if I am wrong. He hasn’t been punished and/or caught previous to these recent games?

Accept Magnus haven't done that before.

@@Einomar So?

@@Einomarthere is always a first time If you are accusing someone you better have proof

No idea how Hans fell, he's still playing tournaments.

How about the "pipi in pampers" issue

Tell me you don't know anything about chess without telling me you don't know anything about chess

@@heeronheeron1348 lol

@@LeventButSpeedrunning another American Magnus hater I guess?

Beads speak for themselves.

As if you would have never lied in your life... such bs

Carlson is so good that it was predicted that he would become world champion.

Those empty allegations did nothing good for chess. Even if Hans were cheating online, there is no way he cheated overboard.