In the U1600 competition (called the Norths Chess Club Centenary Year Under 1600 Tournament - which is running concurrently in the same venue as the Australian Open Championships at Manly-Warringah Leagues club), a player was found to have cheated and was expelled today.
The 14 year old player was caught red handed with a hand held computer in the toilet cubicle.
Suspicions were first aroused when he was seen visiting the toilet no less than 6 times in 20 moves.
The Arbiter was later notified and he was subsequently "tailed" by the Deputy Arbiter the next time he went to the bathroom. It was moments later when he was then caught red-handed with the hand-held computer (Chess Master) . The Arbiter subsequently expelled him from the tournament.
The player appealed against the severity of the punishment but the Appeals Committee rejected his appeal and supported the expulsion with a 3-0 vote.
I cannot help but feel very disappointed with this whole situation.
Chess after all, is only a game. It is not a life and death matter. As he is still very young, I sincerely hope he takes stock of this and learns from this. I understand sometimes the pressure to win can be overwhelming but unfortunately that was the wrong way to go about it.
Oh dear, he is scared for live now. Nobody is gonna believe him ever again in the chess circles.
ReplyDeleteExpelling him sounds reasonable; even a short ban from rated chess would make sense. Was there a large scholarship or cash prize for the winner making it more than a game for him, or it was just the foolishness of youth?
ReplyDeletechesstiger: indeed, a most regrettable incident. after this, i myself have doubts over him coming back to chess. chess in australia is a rather small community and everyone pretty much knows one another. but if he is still keen on chess, it would be nice if bounces back and makes a sincere effort.
ReplyDeleteafter all, who in their youth, has not make mistakes before?
likesforests: The Australian Chess Federation (ACF) will deliberate over the fate of this player at a later time. From the initial reactions, it looks like a short ban may be in order. We'll just have to wait and see.
The prizes in the U1600 are as follows:
1st-$600
2nd-$450
3rd-$300
4th-$200
Unfortunately, who can say what went through his mind when he made the folly?
It's a shame that this kid felt the need to cheat like that for what ever reason. Nothing is worth doing in an underhanded manner. Far better to lose, and be able to live with yourself then to win by cheating.
ReplyDeleteTruly disappointing. I hope he sees why it was wrong. The expulsion sounds fair. Seeing as it's a small community, I think a ban would be a bit severe, but a probationary period might be more called for.
ReplyDeletePolly, wang:: You've echoed my thots on this exactly.
ReplyDeleteA punishment is a definite but I doubt there will be a long ban.