The Mother of all cheating scandals...

robeiae · Apr 14, 2015

I'm outraged!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...at-during-international-tournament/?tid=sm_fb

Gaioz Nigalidze’s rise through the ranks of professional chess began in 2007, the year the first iPhone was released. In hindsight, the timing might not be coincidental.

On Saturday, Nigalidze, the 25-year-old reigning Georgian champion, was competing in the 17th annual Dubai Open Chess Tournament when his opponent spotted something strange.

“Nigalidze would promptly reply to my moves and then literally run to the toilet,” Armenian grandmaster Tigran Petrosian said. “I noticed that he would always visit the same toilet partition, which was strange, since two other partitions weren’t occupied.”

Petrosian complained to the officials. After Nigalidze left the bathroom once more, officials inspected the interior and say they found an iPhone wrapped in toilet paper and hidden behind the toilet.

The bastard was plugging his opponent's moves into a chess app and then letting the app give him his next move.

Michael Wolfe · Apr 14, 2015

Cheating at chess just isn't what it used to be.

RedRajah · Apr 14, 2015

Deep Blue is not amused.

Gregg · Apr 14, 2015

Gee, Mission Impossible (TV, 1968) figured this one out - and, of course, it worked.
Cinnamon wore a camera hidden in jewelry pinned to her dress, transmitted the play to Barney's computer who sent the next move to Rollin via a fake hearing aid.
Rollin won the tournament and the IMF recovered the gold before the bad guys could steal it.

benbradley · Apr 14, 2015

Another sign of chess cheating - touching the side of one's glasses and speaking out the opponent's moves:

"OK Glass. Pawn to King's Knight Four."

rugcat · Apr 14, 2015

benbradley said:
Another sign of chess cheating - touching the side of one's glasses and speaking out the opponent's moves:

"OK Glass. Pawn to King's Knight Four."

Sorry, you're behind the times.

g4

Brightdreamer · Apr 14, 2015

Well, at least he didn't pull the "Hey - look over there! Behind you!" *moves bishop* "Funny, could've sworn I saw something..." routine.

One wonders how he thought he could get away with it. (One also wonders if this wasn't an elaborate publicity stunt for that particular chess app...

)

maxmordon · Apr 14, 2015

Man and technology doing what they are meant to do: Screw other humans who doesn't have technology.

Marian Perera · Apr 14, 2015

I wish I'd found the iPhone. I would have wrapped up an old calculator or address book of the same size in the toilet paper and put that back in place.

Then used the iPhone to film his reaction.

SomethingOrOther · Apr 14, 2015

rugcat said:
Sorry, you're behind the times.

g4

Or g5, if it's Black's move.

That's why I'm glad I don't have to deal with descriptive notation.

rugcat · Apr 14, 2015

SomethingOrOther said:
Or g5, if it's Black's move.

That's why I'm glad I don't have to deal with descriptive notation.

No, g4 is the name of the square. It doesn't matter whether you're playing the black pieces or the white.

In descriptive notation, an opening might go white P-K4, answered by black P-K4. White's K-4 square is not the same square as Black's K-4 square.

In algebraic notation, you would simply write e4 answered by e5. Every square on the chessboard has one and only one designation.

I played a lot of chess at one time, and I really didn't like the algebraic system when it first began to be widely adopted. I thought the standard descriptive system had history and elegance. But algebraic notation is a lot better, avoids confusion, and once you get used to it you realize it's the better system by far.

SomethingOrOther · Apr 14, 2015

I meant that "Pawn to King's Knight Four" can correspond to either of the moves g4 or g5, depending on which side's move it is representing, i.e., "1. P-KN4 P-KN4" (lol) is equivalent to "1. g4 g5". You obviously know that; I'm just clarifying it for anyone who doesn't.

The most infamous cheating scandal in recent times was perpetrated by Borislav Ivanov, if anyone finds this sort of thing fascinating.

rugcat · Apr 14, 2015

Ah, I see. Sorry, I didn't understand what you were saying. You are of course, correct.

Chess masters are notoriously odd, including some of the great ones. Which is one of the reasons I appreciate Magnus Carlson, who is not only a brilliant player but apparently a very pleasant and well-rounded individual.

robeiae · Apr 15, 2015

Chess grandmasters have always made some of the best villains in cop/detective shows, from Columbo to Law and Order to Monk.

Perks · Apr 15, 2015

Almost this exact same thing happened to my husband in a tournament a few years ago. In this case, the tourney directors handled it so poorly that it soured my husband on tournament play and he gave it up.

Gilroy Cullen · Apr 15, 2015

robeiae said:
Chess grandmasters have always made some of the best villains in cop/detective shows, from Columbo to Law and Order to Monk.

Why hasn't Bond faced a Chess Grandmaster yet?

Myrealana · Apr 15, 2015

That's how I finally beat my brother at chess.

benbradley · Apr 15, 2015

rugcat said:
Sorry, you're behind the times.

g4

Yeah, but "g4" doesn't sound nearly as "chess-y."

I recall Microchess on the Kim-1, and many later computer games, used such notation, but it was much more fun typing English notation moves to Chess 4.5 on the mainframe in college. I can see where algebraic notation is less error-prone, but English seems more elegant.

Perks said:
Almost this exact same thing happened to my husband in a tournament a few years ago. In this case, the tourney directors handled it so poorly that it soured my husband on tournament play and he gave it up.

In the last year I read "Searching for Bobby Fischer." I saw the movie back when it came out, but didn't remember much about it. It (the book and movie) is largely or mostly about children (and specifically the author's son) playing tournaments.

kdaniel171 · Apr 15, 2015

haha
Yeah, it's illegal and unfair.
But agree, this guy is genius.

benbradley · Apr 17, 2015

A New Yorker article on this and other chess cheats through history:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/chess-cheat

blacbird · Apr 18, 2015

I'd rephrase the title as "the Queen of all cheating scandals." I've always found it amusing that the ancient game of chess, in which you have to imperil the King to win, features the Queen as the most powerful piece.

caw

The Mother of all cheating scandals...

Touch and go

Jambo Bwana

Special Snowflake? No. Hailstone

Life is good

It's a doggy dog world

Lost in the Fog

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist

Penúltimo

starting over

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Lost in the Fog

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Lost in the Fog

Touch and go

delicate #!&@*#! flower

Handsome servant of a redhead

I aim to misbehave

It's a doggy dog world

It's a doggy dog world