Blog GilaChess

 

Eg: when the possibility of watches could be a cheating device, coincidentally it was already written into the rules that any watches were prohibited.

Well now, since Tornelo tournaments are bringing competitive chess possible and getting popular, I want to know what are the anti cheating measures. I believe it is tech that enables cheats. For example, a spy spectacle that also has a bone conducting feature makes it easy to cheat with an accomplice help. Tornelo measures are having 2 webcams (front and side) as well as requiring audio to be on. My question is how do they deter the spectacle cheats ? 

This is only a hypothetical but a very possible one. Also I can think of many others but will not put in print here as it would just be a source of tips for other cheaters.

If Tornelo cannot deter cheating using tech devices like these, then I assume there must be many undetected cheating occurences. Of course there is also the engine detection method based on the user moves but even that can be circumvented with careful manipulation of the engine suggestions.

Correct me if I am wrong please because I have not personally experienced how a Tornelo tourney is run.

(The above illustrated spectacles cannot broadcast and only record but there are ones that look like authentic specs and do broadcast audio and video)

Recently a player in the ongoing Malaysian Chess Festival, who shall go unnamed, was caught with a phone on his/her person.

That person's game was immediately forfeited because this is a clear vioaltion of the rules of the tournament. No chess program can be found on the phone so the case is not a proven cheating case. However the player was suspended from the tournament because did not comply with surrendering the phone immediately and instead was possibly deleting apps before finally giving the phone up.

Of course FIDE or the person's chess federation will have to investigate and make some decision if further punishment is needed.

If it's a proven case of cheating the punishment will be a 3 to 5 year ban from all tournaments.

The shorter the wand the less sensitive the metal detector is. That is why the short one sold at Lazada is only RM 35.

I mention in a past post that metal detectors can be used as one of the deterrent to chess cheating but as usual technology moves at a rapid rate and even metal detectors can be circumvented. Proper shielding can ensure even metal detectors cannot detect phones. It's logical too as metal detectors like the one show above is meant to detect metallic objects like a gun and most more than half the phone is usually just plastic material rather than metal. That is why 2014 Baku Olympiad metal detectors was used but the 2018 Batumi Olympiad it was not used. Presumably the organisers also knew the weaknesses and the many way metal detectors can be circumvented.


Here an article detailing some of the methods metal detectors are made ineffective: How to get a phone throught metal detectors. Here's another making it easy wrapping your phone in a certain material,

X-ray
The latest Olympiad in Batumi used X-ray frames like the one they used in airports instead of metal detectors which I think is extreme and expensive but yet unfortunately necessary.

So is technology siding the cheaters? It's not if we use technology more to find and deter cheaters. It need not even be costly. For example a simple wide angle video camera of the whole hall to monitor movement and behaviour of visitors and players can be replayed back for post mortem. Also it need not be technology based. The Batumi Olympiad made random searches on players after every round as deterrent. Again, I think it's extreme and hard to implement in our local tournaments.

Of course, I think the recently went viral non-ethical method taking photos of a player in the toilet is the wrong way to go about it.

Some people still can't understand why an analog watch is not allowed in a serious chess tournament today.

One possible protest:
"Come on, this is a freaking 10 year old Rolex. There's nothing digital about it!"

Here's why analog watches are not allowed. Take this Amazfit watch for example..

  
It uses 'Glonast' tech which just means it has a digital overlay screen. When Glonast is off, the watch looks like any ordinary analog watch. But it's actually a smart watch capable of receiving text messages via whatsapp, SMS, FB messaging etc.

Suffice to say it makes cheating in a chess tournament too easy.

This is not a concept watch as you can already buy it from GearBest (USD 149.99) . Link below:-
https://www.gearbest.com/promotion/Amazfit-GTR-special-136.html

It's a cool watch. I am tempted to buy it as it has fitness tracking which includes tracking swimming activities.

Bone Conduction Audio Sunglasses

For a chess tournament, the system will instead record suspicious activity by logging when a person goes to the toilet, how frequent, at what time etc. If moves are recorded, the time stamp is invaluable to determine the type of moves made.

Also, more games online is good as even viewers can get suspicious when moves made are the top engine moves made. But alas, online game viewing numbers (the boards and viewers) is too low at the moment.

Cheating in chess is as old as the game. Anti-cheating measures are coming into play but implementation is sadly lacking especially in tournaments not in the league of the Olympiads.

DGT boards or Chess Vision systems may be impractical where cost is a concern. There is a solution. Record video of the game - not just the moves but when the players are gone for toilet breaks etc using cheap webcams like this:-
Video footage can be reviewed later and games rebuilt and matched with engine calculations. They may not be immediate fixes but at least may act as deterrent.

Everyone already suspects how easy today with access to super strong chess engines, the ease and temptation to cheat is great. Here's a proof of concept using today's actual devices and software:

The App
First, the method of message transmission. An "accomplice" can send in the moves via morse code silently using this app:




P/S:

also since it is Android based, there are many chess engines  that can be run directly off this types of smart watches.

Case study of cheating using in-ear hidden ear piece. (ChessBase article)

3 years ago one of my friends showed me his then ‘cool’ smart watch cum phone. One look at it and you never guess that it is a phone. Incidentally he showed us the watch during one of the Malaysian Open at Cititel and I remember telling Najib how easy it was to cheat.

 

It still is.

I can imagine this happening during one of the tournament during the chess festival at Cititel Mid Valley. All you have to do is have an accomplice walk around the hall and study your position. He will then go out to one of the comfortable couches outside the hall and check with a notebook with an engine. SMS the best move and it will appear on the watch. An inaudible buzz will alert the player of a new sms. The notification with the move eg: 23. Ne5! is shown the watch and fades away after 2 seconds. No need to even touch the watch. No one would suspect a chess player glancing at his watch.

The above is cheap at RM 188 and with programmable language like Java it’s possible to even change the face to show an analog time with hours and minute hands to look less conspicuous.

I am not advocating cheating but just pointing out that it is challenging for organisers to detect cheating like this even with the ban on electronic devices like tablets and phones on the person during the tournament. Should they check their watches too ?