5 Chess Grandmaster Cheating Scandals You Should Know About
If we told you that popular championship sports like baseball, ballet, soccer, chess, and boxing have one thing in common, would you be able to guess what that is? You guessed it - they’re all plagued with numerous cheating scandals and allegations. We’ve all heard rumors about match-fixing in soccer, basketball bribes, and even baseball tampering. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that chess is no exception and has its share of scandals and controversies. So, we decided to look into some of the most infamous chess grandmaster cheating scandals and their ultimate outcomes.
5 Unbelievable Chess Grandmaster Cheating Scandals
You might think that cheating during a chess match sounds impossible. Get ready because you’re in for a ride - from strange chess cheating theories, multi million-dollar lawsuits, and even grandmasters going to prison; we have it all for you. So, let’s look into five chess grandmaster cheating scandals without further ado.
Hans Niemann vs. Magnus Carlsen (2022)
The Niemann vs. Carlsen is arguably the most controversial and popular chess scandal that shook the entire community. This scandal gained widespread attention because it involved the World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen, and his highly publicized accusation against Hans Niemann.
The controversy started in 2022. Niemann, at that time, the lowest-ranked player in the tournament, shockingly broke Carlsen’s 53-game unbeaten streak using the Nimzo-Indian defense. The defeat led to Carlsen withdrawing from the tournament without any explanation.
Soon, Carlsen would publish a cryptic tweet, which naturally led people to believe that he was accusing Niemann of cheating. Niemann was quick to address the controversy and admitted to cheating as a teenager but not against Carlsen.
The rumors spread like wildfire, with popular media outlets, like the Independent, calling it “The biggest scandal in chess history,”. Tournament organizers were quick to increase their anti-cheating measures, but the damage was done.
Niemann boldly proclaimed that he was willing to play naked to prove his innocence in an interview.
Now, you might be wondering, how can someone cheat during chess?
Well, according to some interesting (but weird) speculations from Reddit, some believed that Neimann used vibrating anal beads (yes, you read that right) to receive move commands from an outsider.
The chess community anxiously awaited Magnus's update while diving deep into Neimann’s chess history for anomalies. Carlsen soon released a statement in which he acknowledged that Niemann’s performance during the tournament raised suspicion. Carlsen was convinced Niemann cheated often and recently, as opposed to his statement.
People online, especially the chess community, were not happy with this statement as Carlsen had provided no proof of cheating.
The story doesn’t end there because soon after, there was a feud between the two during the Julius Baer Generation Cup, when Magnus Carlsen resigned after making just one move against Niemann, further igniting the flames of speculation and controversy.
The online chess world exploded, and to no one’s surprise, it was clear that Carlsen still believed Niemann had cheated.
The support and criticism were endless, and soon after, Neimann filed a defamation lawsuit against Carlsen and sought $100 million in damages. The two parties settled the lawsuit privately, and they agreed to move forward without any further legal actions or threats.
Gaioz Nigalidze (2015)
Gaioz Nigalidze, the Georgian chess grandmaster, thought he could cheat during a tournament by hiding his phone in a lavatory - under toilet paper. The scandal erupted during the 2015 Dubai Open, where Gaioz Nigalidze was up against Tigran L. Petrosian, who found Nigalidze’s frequent lavatory visits strange and suspicious.
Petrosian promptly voiced his concerns to the arbiter, and the toilet was subject to a search, where a mobile was discovered clumsily stashed away under some toilet paper. The chess scandal quickly made media headlines as it was a high-profile case. A chess grandmaster had been found cheating during a tournament is headline news after all.
Although Nigalidze denied ownership of the phone, officials found a social media app registered to him on the device. One of the chess applications on the device was analyzing the game, and he used that to make his next moves.
Nigalidze became the first player subject to investigation and punishment by FIDE. He was stripped of his grandmaster title and banned from the game for three years.
Igors Rausis (2019)
Just a few years after the Gaioz Nigalidze case, another chess grandmaster cheating scandal made the headlines in Strasbourg, France.
Igors Rausis, a 1992 chess grandmaster title winner, was caught red-handed using his phone during a game. The tournament officials were suspicious of Rausis’s frequent lavatory visits, and upon investigation, they found him on his phone with a running chess analysis software.
When confronted, Rausis didn’t deny the allegations and was banned from the game for six years. He later expressed his regret and resigned from professional chess soon after.
This chess grandmaster cheating scandal caused quite a stir. People were shocked by Rausis’s actions since he was a well-respected and recognized player. FIDE stripped him of his Grandmaster title in 2019 but it didn’t stop people from wondering about the extent of his cheating as he had garnered a lot of trust in the community.
Igor Rausis passed away in March 2024, never playing competitive chess again.
Sébastien Feller (2010)
Sébastien Feller, who became a grandmaster in 2007 at the age of 17, faced cheating accusations during the 2010 Chess Olympiad.
What stands out about Feller’s scandal is its sophistication and the fact he enlisted two highly rated chess players as accomplices. He enlisted grandmaster Arnaud Hauchard and international master Cyril Marzolo. Their strategy was simple yet clever. While Feller was playing, Marzolo, who was in France, was checking for the next best move for Feller with a chess computer.
Marzolo allegedly sent the next moves in coded pairs of numbers by text to Hauchard, who was in the hall. As soon as he had the next move suggestion. He would shift his position and stand behind one of the chess player’s tables in a predefined coded system.
A total of 200 text messages were found during the tournament. But Feller was quick to deny any cheating allegations and released a statement to defend himself. Sadly, for Feller, FIDE took severe disciplinary actions, and he lost his GM title as punishment. Furthermore, he received a three year ban from all FIDE Tournaments.
In 2019, the correctional tribune of Thionville sentenced Feller to six months in prison for cheating at the Chess Olympiad. As of now, He has completed his sentence and has returned to playing chess.
Tigran L. Petrosian (2020)
For our final chess grandmaster cheating scandal, we have to talk about Tigran L. Petrosian – does the name sound familiar?
Petrosian is the one who suspected Gaioz Nigalidze was cheating during their chess match in 2015. When the Nigalidze frequently went to the toilet to cheat. So, it was pretty shocking when he was subject to the same accusations. A mere five years later, during an online PRO chess game.
At the time Petrosian, was one of the highest-ranked grandmasters in the world. That did not stop him from being caught cheating during his match with Wesley So.
Wesley accused Petrosian of cheating, and sophisticated anti-cheating systems detected an unusually high accuracy rate in his moves. The system also monitored his behavior closely and discovered that he was using a computer to make his next moves. He was found guilty of violating the fair play rules.
Petrosian was later disqualified from his team, The Armenia Eagles, and he lost his $20,000 prize money.
Final Thoughts
Well, there you have it, folks — some of the most infamous chess grandmaster cheating scandals that shook the chess community. It is shocking that so many top players have succumbed to temptation and crossed the fairness line.
It makes us wonder how many elite chess players may be getting away with this regularly. And how tournaments should implement stricter anti-cheating policies.