Hi everyone,

I saw some people disagreed with me. But now I have proof against one of my very opponents. I played the romanian board one (MirceaH) as the number one on UK team (at that time). His rating was above 2500++. Congrats for Chess.com.. He is now banned for cheating. There may be much more.. I do not know the reason for him/her being banned.

Thanks all the guys for your comments..

Just for the record. I have played chess since 1974, and never played in a OTB tournament. I have no rating in any chess orginization other then the 2 online places I play. 1600's here and 1900's on my serious site (chesspark.com -- mazmar  http://www.chesspark.com/people/me/). I do play 2 different ways, one is the most common - have fun play what I feel will give the most interesting result. The other is my serious play -- look close play fast. I have a much better result playing timed (10 minutes or less ) games.

That having been said, I know several players who have a low rating and a high skill level, and several high ranked players on chess.com with no rating in any chess orginizations outside of here. So sometimes when a player starts playing above their rating it is not always cheating, maybe just paying closer attention. I look at it like the rest of things "Worry about how you play, and try your damndest to win"...And if another player wants to know the rating of their computer, it is all the sweeter to beat them.....!!!

I dont know what to think i play for fun and pleasure and i hope to grow and get better.

Hi David,

thanks you made me feel better.

Himan

I had the same feeling in a game I played against a sub-1100 player earlier this year.  Assuming an easy game I was just pushing the pieces around and soon found myself being soundly outplayed.  Some of his moves seemed well above his rating and, like yourself, I wondered whether he was getting some assistance from his one-eyed German friend.  Eventually he played an <1100-type move and I was able to win the game.

My conclusion was that probably most players are able to play above themselves for a time but, given enough pressure they start to wilt.

I've found the same thing at club level, and even in tournaments -- especially the Under 1600 sections where I usually play.

The final game shown in THIS POST was played by a player rated about 1450 ACF (and the ACF ratings, in the higher ranges, equate closely to FIDE).  It was quite a remarkable game.  She told me the other day that she spent the rest of the tournament trying for the same kind of combination, and lost every game!  The same woman, still rated way below 1500, has won under tournament conditions against a number of people rated between 1800-2100 ACF. 

Why?  Because on a good day, in familiar positions, she plays very well;  but sometimes she can  be inconsistent ... and that accounts for her low rating.  I'm much the same myself.

Which brings me to my theory that anybody is capable of playing well, but few players have the depth of knowledge and the determination to play consistently well.

Now, having said all that, I want to agree with you almost 100%.  Yes, cheating does happen;  yes it is deplorable, and if I knew somebody was cheating I would refuse to play them.

My only issue with your comments is that it is nowhere near as widespread as you believe. 

Of course, that's only what I believe ...

Hi David,

Thanks for the reply. Well nobody can really tell whether they cheat or not. I certainly don't because I feel its unfair. But its something you feel when somebody start playing flawlessly  quite abruptly. Eg: you beat a player easily in the previous game and then get invited for another one. Then you realise that you play with somebody different. When you play chess for a long time you can easily tell. I may be wrong; but that's what i strongly feel.

Hi Uddama,

It'd be interesting to know what data you used to arrive at the conclusion that "most players seem to use computers".  It's certainly not my experience.

Erik has attempted to lay the cheating phobia to rest and you can read the official chess.com view HERE.  It might help to clarify things for you.

Some people exceed their OTB ratings but that doesn't mean they (we) cheat.  My current Australian rating is about 1550 while, on chess.com, I usually rate somewhere between 1750 and 1850.  The reason, I believe, is that any experienced club or tournament player is likely to score fairly well against opponents who haven't yet had that opportunity. 

And, yes, some of the people I used to beat easily on chess.com are now far ahead of me in the ratings.  Did they cheat to get there?  Not a chance!  My guess is that they just take more time to consider their moves (tournament style thinking, perhaps) while I prefer to play virtual skittles and suffer the consequences.

I understand your frustration, and respect your opinion, but when you've been with us a little longer you'll realise that the question you've asked has been raised almost ad nauseum. 

Sure, computer-aided cheating does go on, but there's really no indication that it's wide-spread on the site.

Cheers