Unbelievable Chess Cheating Accusation

Do people cheat? -- Yes. Do people cheat at chess? -- Yes. Within the past few years, there have been reported instances where electronic transmission devices have been discovered physically on players or wired into players' clothing (such as a baseball hat) who were accused of cheating. That being said, unfortunately it is far too easy today to whip up "cheating hysteria." All a chess player has to do is make the allegation. Even in cases where no physical proof is discovered (i.e., electronic devices or some other kind of device or set-up capable of transmitting moves to the accused player -- does transmission of moves via ESP count? - that was a big bug-a-boo of Bobby Fischer and the Kasparov camp), the stigma of having an unproven accusation of cheating hanging over one's head is there for a long, long time. Topalov accused Kramnik of cheating during their world championship match in Elista - from the bathroom ("toilet" as Topalov's mouthpiece crassly stated). No evidence of any cheating was found despite extensive and embarassing searches, but the ugly accusation has hovered over Kramnik ever since. Most recently, Shakriyar Mamedyarov accused Russian GM Igor Kurnosov of cheating at the huge and richly rewarding Aeroflot Open in St. Petersburg. Charges, response/rebuttal and more detailed charges have been thrown out since. It is very sad. These days, it would not surprise me to find out, if it could ever be discovered and substantiated by actual evidence, that an accuser is actually guilty of cheating him (or her) self, and uses the accusation to cover the tracks of his (or her) dishonorable crime. But who would accuse a 6 year old of cheating at chess??? From the Sault Star LETTER — Six-year-old child should not have been accused of cheating at chess challenge — COMMENT Posted By Letters Posted 9 hours ago I was fortunate to be a spectator at the terrific Regional Canadian Chess Challenge Tournament over this past weekend. Unfortunately I witnessed a situation where a pair of overprotective parents blamed a six year-old child of cheating. In reality they witnessed him castling, which is one of the basic moves in chess. While even Sidney Crosby has spent time in the penalty box, the same cannot be said about chess. Chess is a game of honour. Players for the most part officiate themselves, and cheating is a terrible offense. I hope that parents like this would learn the rules of a game before questioning the integrity of a child. Brian Bengert, Sudbury