Many chess players play not only with real, but also with virtual opponents. However, online chess has its own specifics. Anonymous game often pushes people to hooligan or cheating actions, about which we will talk in this article.
The opponent does not walk in a losing position
The situation is familiar to anyone who has played online chess. One such case happened to me a week ago on Lichess. I managed to get the material and positional advantage. The opponent stopped moving his pieces – absolute inaction on his part.
Fortunately, the game had a twenty-minute time control. I did not have to wait long. Having poured the coffee, I went back to the computer and saw that my opponent had made a move and that my time was gradually running out. There was a risk that my opponent would come back to the game three to five seconds before it was over and make his move. If I had stepped away from the computer, this trick could have worked. The bully would have received undeserved rating points. But that didn’t happen.
The opponent disappears in the game without time control
This kind of behavior by opponents is one of the main reasons I have given up on games with no time limit. Often online players are asked to agree to lenient time control terms. The argument is that they need to think about every move. In reality, the game turns into an absentee battle – as soon as the opponent makes the first mistake, the frequency of his actions on the board is reduced to one per hour.
Use of computer cues
This phenomenon is characteristic of most chess servers I’ve ever played on. Some sites use special algorithms to calculate cheaters. Unfortunately, the imperfection of the software does not allow to rid the Internet of dishonest players by 100%. Thousands of people continue to resort to the help of artificial intelligence.
I managed to talk to several cheaters. I asked them about why they use chess engines during games with real opponents online. The answers were always similar: people talked about getting tired of losing, increasing their interest in the game, and developing their own skills. This allows us to conclude that weak players, who are not confident in their skills of playing the game, take the path of cheating.
Using Engines to Worsen the Position
This type of cheating is a bit more complicated than the previous one. Dishonest players resort to chess software cues when making position errors or losing a material advantage. More than once I’ve seen my opponent begin to play at Grandmaster level after losing a piece and bring the game to victory. The analysis, carried out by me after the game, showed: the first moves of the game had no correlation with the proposals of chess programs. After losing a piece the coincidence with variants of moves from known engines became one hundred percent.
Such actions are always obvious, because the level of play of a chess player with a rating of 2000 points suddenly rises up to super grandmasters with 3000 rating points. This suggests that the opponent is using Stockfish or Komodo engines.
A stronger chess player makes moves for the player
A chess player with an Elo rating of 1200 invites an experienced friend to play online duels. Cheating of this kind is more difficult to recognize. You face an opponent who has almost never beaten you, but there is nothing you can do about the quality of his actions.
I believe that using such schemes is contrary to the spirit of fair competition. If you want to play against an opponent with a rating of 1200, he should confront you. Meeting a chess player of a higher level will lead beginners to invariable defeat.
Insulting your opponent during an online game
The flow of negativity in text chat, there is no comment. You can only advise to turn off the chat during the game, so as not to be distracted. In the future, it is wise to block such passionate opponents.
Asking to “cancel a move” and denying your request
Canceling a move is a controversial element of online chess. You allow your opponent to correct a mistake, and he rejects your request for a similar service a few moves later with the words: “Sorry, this is chess. The best man wins!”. You can let your opponents cancel moves in really interesting games. But don’t expect the same courtesy in return.
Constant offers of draws in the worst position
This often happens when your opponent has made gross mistakes or rapidly deteriorating his position. In a game at the classical board, an offer of a draw from an opponent in a hopeless situation can be perceived as a joke. In online games, requests from the losing opponent may be pouring in every second. The cheater is counting on you to accidentally accept his offer and not be able to bring the game to victory.