The issue is also a live one in the world of poker, which went through a similar scandal in September in which a revered player, Garrett Adelstein, accused poker newcomer Robbi Jade Lew of cheating in an individual hand in which she won $269,000, perhaps through receiving information about other players’ cards from a third-party with access to the game’s live stream. “We may internally decide to be more public about that stuff going forward,” said Allebest, while maintaining that the company will keep its options open. While Lichess permanently closes those accounts, allows players to return under certain conditions.Ĭ has always handled incidents of cheating privately, they are considering adjustments to that policy.Both and Lichess have taken the approach of banning players privately.That leads to the question of what a chess platform does when it identifies a cheater. The site has banned Niemann in the past, and more than 100 other grandmasters, many of whom were allowed to come back after admitting to cheating.īecause of the huge numbers of games being monitored - over 400 million per month on - a tiny imperfection in the detection system could result in thousands of innocent players getting flagged. Since the start of 2021, has closed roughly 18,000 to 35,000 accounts for cheating each month. “If somebody’s playing blitz better than Magnus Carlsen plays in classical chess, you know, there’s a problem.”Īlgorithms can easily root out players who are simply doing what a chess engine recommends, and strong players can often sniff out cheaters just from the strength and style of their play. “Seventy percent of the bans are automated,” CEO Erik Allebest told me. The major online chess platforms make huge investments in catching cheaters. With more people interested in playing, watching, and improving at the game, there’s more to gain from making a name in chess. The site has held those gains and hosted at least 86 million games each month since December 2020. Lichess, another popular site, hosted 44 million games in February 2020 and surged to 73.2 million two months later.By November of this year, the site had over 96 million registered users and 30 million monthly active users.Its user base surged to 48.5 million in 2020 - which was largely attributable to the pandemic - and then rose a similar amount to 77.4 million in 2021, with an assist from the hit Netflix show, “The Queen’s Gambit.”.’s total cumulative users doubled from 2016 to 2019, hitting 29.7 million.Twitch and other live platforms present a new revenue stream, particularly for young stars like Niemann. This centuries-old game is seeing unprecedented numbers of players and the biggest prize pools in history. Pressure RisingĬarlsen’s decision - the first time he had ever dropped out of a tournament that he had already started - resulted from years of rising stakes in the chess world and growing mistrust with this particular opponent. Still, no one has found conclusive evidence that he cheated, and Niemann, while admitting to isolated incidents of cheating in online games, maintains that he has never cheated in an in-person match. Carlsen later claimed that Niemann didn’t seem to be focusing very hard at key moments. Following both, he was criticized by other grandmasters for missing key aspects of the games he had just played, suggesting to some that he hadn’t really been thinking about the moves he made. Niemann sat for routine post-game interviews after his match against Carlsen and the following one, a draw against fellow 19-year-old grandmaster Alireza Firouzja. While players were already routinely wanded with a metal detector on entry, Niemann, was subject to an especially deliberate check, which took a minute-and-a-half. It’s unclear if and how Niemann could have received recommendations from an assistant watching the live streamed games – players cannot have phones or other communication devices on them while they play – but if he had some kind of concealed device, beating the world champion would be easy enough.Īfter Carlsen’s withdrawal, the Sinquefield Cup introduced extra security measures for subsequent rounds, namely a 15-minute delay between the games and the livestream broadcast. While Carlsen didn’t speak publicly for three weeks, his implication was clear: He believed that when 19-year-old grandmaster Hans Niemann beat him the day before at the prestigious Sinquefield Cup, ending Carlsen’s undefeated streak in classical chess at 53 games, that he had cheated with computer assistance.Īs good as Carlsen is - and he’s probably the best in human history - he’s no match for Stockfish and other chess computers, commonly referred to as “chess engines,” which can calculate dozens of moves into the future.
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