Case A: Android Cheater
World Chess Federation FIDE Arbiters ' Commission
Case A: Android Cheater
This case occurred during the 2015 Dr. Hedgewar Open Chess Tournament, April 2015, in New Delhi, India.
In the previous issue of this bulletin, we covered the cheating case of GM Gaioz Nigalidze at the Dubai Open. Only a couple of weeks later, there was an even more surprising case of cheating, this time at the 2015 Dr. Hedgewar Open.
Dhruv Kakar, a 19-year-old engineer, defeated his first 5 opponents, including GM Praveen Thipsay, who was rated almost 900 points higher. As explained further below, Kakar and his accomplices devised a thorough cheating system, including various pieces of hardware. In the end however, they were discovered by the straightforward yet thorough observational skills of GM Thipsay, who had been bothered throughout the game by Kakar’ s repeated foot-stomping:
“ I noticed that he was taking around two minutes for every move, whether it was a complex move or a simple piece-capture with a pawn. I expressed my doubts to the Chief Arbiter, who asked me to continue. By the 29th move, I was clearly lost and chose to offer a draw. He promptly declined the offer. But, my doubts stood confirmed when he missed simple winning lines, as though he waited for a confirmation from someone. At times, I thought he misheard the move( that was transmitted through hidden phone and earpiece) and played incorrectly.( At other times), some of his moves were out of the world.“
These words from the opponent are quite instructional for arbiters. There are many different types of observations that can be made by arbiters, and then when brought together, serve to flag potential cheaters. As arbiters, we have the responsibility to always be aware for potential cheating. Regardless of how many guidelines there are, the fundamental focus point is to always be aware!
Immediately after the game ended, Kakar was escorted away by arbiters to a separate room, to be searched. As witnessed by the accompanying pictures on the next pages, this searching was very successful, as there were many pieces of hardware to find! In the end, it was a remarkably daring and vulnerable plan!
The evidence
Two 9-volt batteries in a pouch, strapped to another belt, wires heading in both directions …
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