Viswanathan Anand, the Indian chess hero who is now the deputy president of the international governing organisation FIDE, believes that cheating in his sport is “not common” and is restricted to “online” competitions.
Magnus Carlsen, the reigning world champion, caused a stir in September this year when he accused US youngster Hans Niemann of cheating following his dramatic defeat in round three of the Sinquefield Cup.
“It’s a new field. Yes, we are aware of the possibility (of cheating), and it must be concerning, but I do not believe it is widespread “Anand told PTI in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Chess India, which begins on Tuesday.
“At the very least, it is not available offline. I’m not sure what the proportion is online, but it’s not widespread. Millions of games are played online. Nonetheless, it is preferable to treat the issue early rather than later.”
However, the five-time world champion Indian believes that the problem of internet cheating will never be eliminated since technology will continue to advance.
“I don’t think we’ll ever be able to fix this because technology is constantly growing, and you have to adapt to it. You have the framework, which is critical.” To some extent, he compared the struggle against chess cheating to a “arms race.”
“”You have to constantly evolving as technology improves,” he remarked.
“Right now, we’re relying on data analysis to some part; using statistical analysis, we’re looking at a large number of moves to see whether there’s a correlation.”
The Carlsen-Niemann incident is now being investigated by FIDE’s Fair Play Commission, as the Norwegian world champion faces punishment for presenting an unsubstantiated claim.
If sufficient proof of cheating is discovered, the US Grandmaster, who has launched a USD 100 million lawsuit against Carlsen, may face sanctions as well.
“We have formed a panel to investigate the situation.” “First and foremost, you want to see what can be done, and then you want to see how it can be applied over thousands of tournaments because you want some uniformity, which is also crucial because you don’t want the security checks to become too onerous for the players,” Anand explained.
The Indian chess master, who also leads the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA), is hoping that one of the teen three of D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and R Praggnanandhaa would become the next world champion.
“For them, the path is simple; you must continue to improve as a chess player.” You strive to improve your chess knowledge by analysing your game and discovering what is going wrong. We have a decent possibility of qualifying for candidates throughout the next timeframe.
“I’m pleased that WACA is assisting them. We attempt to find out what they are working on and remain in touch with them on a regular basis. The objective is to be present and supportive.”
Anand is pleased with India’s chess skill depth.
“For many years, I was the only player in the top-100.” But he’s probably six or seven years old now. It’s reassuring to know that we’re in good shape.”
However, modern chess is very unpredictable since there are so many players competing for so few slots that it all comes down to the wire. The United States and Uzbekistan are formidable adversaries.”
He believes that events like the Tata Steel would help Indian players to compare themselves to the best in the world.
“There should be one major event in the country.”
Anand stated that he is thoroughly enjoying his new work as an administrator.
“I’ve been enjoying it so far; it’ll be a learning experience.” Because of the World Championships and Olympiad, there will be a lot of travel obligations next year. It’ll be a hectic timetable. “I’m delighted to attempt to contribute.” I still play occasionally. “If an event comes up, I’m willing to participate, but not as regularly as I used to,” he explained.
Cheating in chess is not common, according to Viswanathan Anand.
