King's Corner, episode 2: Cheating and the Queen's Gambit

Oct. 8—There is big news in the chess world that is still fresh on everyone's minds. Teenage Grandmaster Hans Niemann has been accused of cheating multiple times electronically on the world-famous chess.com app, according to multiple news sources such as The Wall Street Journal and NBC News.

The report issued by chess.com reads over 70 pages long and alleges he cheated electronically on the online chess platform, an investigation stemming largely following his curious defeat of the one and only Magnus Carlsen in a tournament, leading to Carlsen's resignation.

While this column will not get into the nitty-gritty of the Hans Niemann Report by chess.com, the accusations of him cheating online, and the curiosity surrounding his game with Carlsen in-person, raises a question: How does one cheat at chess, in-person or online?

It should be noted that this column never encourages anyone to cheat. However, knowing how others choose to go about cheating could be a good way to see the signs before it's too late.

Additionally, this column will teach readers about the Queen's Gambit — not the popular Netflix show, but a powerful chess move used to gain control early on.

Cheating

According to experienced player and blogger for chess.com, Sam Copeland, cheating at chess can take on many forms, both over-the-board and online. However, luckily for the chess world, the perception of cheating oftentimes is larger than the reality of cheating.

"I would argue that there is greater danger to chess in the perception of cheating than in the actual act," Copeland said in a chess.com post from August 2019.

However, others would argue that cheating is more prevalent than some are willing to admit.

No matter which side of the argument you fall on, it is important to know how an individual could choose to go about cheating.

Methods come from reliable online sources.

Over the board

Most of the ways over-the-board cheating can happen actually involves more social engineering than it does with tactics on the actual board itself.

SandbaggingOne cheating method is called "sandbagging," where an individual purposefully lowers his or her chess score rating in order to play easier competition and win tournaments — and potentially prize money — with less opposition.

One way to identify this is by a player simply overmatching their opponent on the board, despite being similar in score rating.

Hiding a device

This one is a combination of social engineering and getting help from technology. It is quite simple: a player hides a chess engine in their shoe or elsewhere in order to gain a tactical and strategic advantage. The chess engine is something that will be brought up again for online cheating.

Help from friends and bathroom breaks

Neither method is easy to pull off, thankfully, but it isn't impossible. Gaining assistance from friends or from a "second" overlooking the board from afar, as described by Copeland, is a way he says a player can improve an overall score and give them an advantage on the board.

Furthermore, also difficult to pull off is cheating with a chess engine during a bathroom break. There are plenty of examples of suspicion of this. However, this is tough to pull off due to the difficulty of hiding the quality of moves following the break.

Online Chess engines (but watch out for the counter-technology)

The most common way of cheating online involves using a chess engine to guide a player to the best move. However, online platforms have adapted, with technology built in to read the chess engine moves and catch individuals in the act.

Gambit of the Week

The Queen's Gambit

A gambit in the chess world involves sacrificing a pawn or piece for a future tactical and strategic advantage.

The Queen's Gambit involves gaining control of the board early on by giving up a pawn near the start of the game.

Some would argue that is more of a trade than a gambit, due to the black player not being able to hold the pawn it uses to take the gambited white pawn.

However, the Queen's Gambit involves three steps: — White player moves the queen's pawn up two spaces — Black player equals the move on their side, moving the queen pawn two spaces. — White moves the queen-side bishop's pawn up two spaces.

The gambit happens when black's pawn takes the white pawn just moved. While white may be down a piece, they now have more control of the center of the board, a huge key to winning in chess.

There are a number of combinations of moves that white can do to take advantage of the center control. If played right, black can spend most of the early stages of the game on the defensive.

Two tips for beginners

As always, King's Corner ends with providing tips for new players. — When up in material near the end-game, always be willing to trade equal pawns or pieces to: 1. reduce the opponent's material and 2. clear up the board for your pieces, while still having an advantage in material and score. — Study pawn formations. Understanding how pawn formations can help or hurt a game is key. Popular pawn formations include the pawn chain — which involves connecting pawns two, three or four in a row where each can counter-attack if the pawn in front of it is taken. Population formations also includes the pawn wall, where pawns are on the same rank, which allows for a number of possible move openings.