Everybody who has been playing online chess for any significant period of time has probably encountered somebody using an engine to win. I myself have done it. Once, around 3 years ago, I was hanging out with a buddy and we decided to use an engine just for giggles. We wanted to see how high we could get our rating. That was the one and only time I ever did it. Funny thing is, we didn't get it that high before we gave up because so many games after the 1800 mark started to be draws. I.E. We kept running into other cheaters. The fact that online cheating at chess is that common was and still is a sad realization.
Let's think about the different types of cheating and why people do it.
1) Beginning to end cheater: He's the guy that uses a computer for every game from move 1 to checkmate.
2) Opening cheater: This is the cheater that uses an engine to play just the opening.
3) Advantage Cheater: This is the cheater who uses an engine until they have a clear advantage, then play on their own.
4) Disadvantage Cheater: This is the cheater who plays on their own until they realize they are getting beaten and only then turns on their engine.
5) Weakness/Confused Cheater: This is the player that only uses the engine when they get into a situation and they don't know what to do or they get into a situation where they know they don't know what to do.
At first I tried to write down all the different reasons I thought each of these types of cheater cheat. I quickly realized that it was a futile effort. There are probably as many various reasons why people cheat at chess as there are reasons or excuses for any immoral act. I, for instance, did it for giggles and out of curiosity. Others might do it because they feel they are learning something from it. For the most part however, I believe it has to do with ego in many different ways. Just one example might be a person who thinks they are deserving of a minimal rating of 2000 might cheat to achieve or maintain that rating always assuming that anybody with a lower rating that beats them is cheating.
If ego is the main underlying reason a person might cheat, then you can probably ask an obvious question with an equally obvious answer. What does a cheater have to gain from cheating? The answer, rating points. Possibly just as valid an answer, the satisfaction of beating a stronger player or to get rating points so they can play the stronger players.
What is the damage done to the honest player who is there just to enjoy the game? The guy who wins some and loses some but despite the emotional pain or glee, continues to play fairly for no other reason than the love of the game? The answer to this is as simple as it is complicated. One can argue that the answer is nothing. It's just a game. Another person could argue that it damages the integrity of the rating system and messes with people's heads. We can all agree, I think, that's it's simply not fair to find yourself playing a computer when you didn't want to. Even more to the point, you could argue that the cheater is stealing rating points, or bits of our hard earned ego boosting or diminishing rating. I think all of these points are valid.
Is there a solution to online cheating? I don't think it will ever go away completely. People will always do it as long as it is as easy to do as it is. Do I think there is an obvious way to significantly reduce the amount of cheating on this, my favorite chess server, lichess.org/? YES!
But is the cure worse than the disease? That's the question I pose to whoever is reading this.
My proposed solution is simple. Hide the rating system. Make ratings viewable only to the person it's assigned to and only then after that person has proven, through so many games played, that they aren't going to just make another account if they aren't satisfied with it. Only make updates of this viewable rating weekly or monthly. I believe this will deter players who cheat greatly. If nothing else they will play on other sites. This wouldn't change anything either. The ratings will still be there. Players will still have the option of not being paired with people too far from their own rating. The ratings will simply become private and therefore less important to ego and more important as far as personal accomplishment. Most importantly, I believe that the average person's ability to enjoy the game will be enhanced and that all players will benefit from not worrying about their rating or losing rating points to cheaters.
Please post what you think about my idea to address the problem of cheating and anything else you might like to ad to this article. The points I made here are only my opinion and I'm equally interested in hearing yours on this topic. Thank you for taking the time to read this, inkspot
Let's think about the different types of cheating and why people do it.
1) Beginning to end cheater: He's the guy that uses a computer for every game from move 1 to checkmate.
2) Opening cheater: This is the cheater that uses an engine to play just the opening.
3) Advantage Cheater: This is the cheater who uses an engine until they have a clear advantage, then play on their own.
4) Disadvantage Cheater: This is the cheater who plays on their own until they realize they are getting beaten and only then turns on their engine.
5) Weakness/Confused Cheater: This is the player that only uses the engine when they get into a situation and they don't know what to do or they get into a situation where they know they don't know what to do.
At first I tried to write down all the different reasons I thought each of these types of cheater cheat. I quickly realized that it was a futile effort. There are probably as many various reasons why people cheat at chess as there are reasons or excuses for any immoral act. I, for instance, did it for giggles and out of curiosity. Others might do it because they feel they are learning something from it. For the most part however, I believe it has to do with ego in many different ways. Just one example might be a person who thinks they are deserving of a minimal rating of 2000 might cheat to achieve or maintain that rating always assuming that anybody with a lower rating that beats them is cheating.
If ego is the main underlying reason a person might cheat, then you can probably ask an obvious question with an equally obvious answer. What does a cheater have to gain from cheating? The answer, rating points. Possibly just as valid an answer, the satisfaction of beating a stronger player or to get rating points so they can play the stronger players.
What is the damage done to the honest player who is there just to enjoy the game? The guy who wins some and loses some but despite the emotional pain or glee, continues to play fairly for no other reason than the love of the game? The answer to this is as simple as it is complicated. One can argue that the answer is nothing. It's just a game. Another person could argue that it damages the integrity of the rating system and messes with people's heads. We can all agree, I think, that's it's simply not fair to find yourself playing a computer when you didn't want to. Even more to the point, you could argue that the cheater is stealing rating points, or bits of our hard earned ego boosting or diminishing rating. I think all of these points are valid.
Is there a solution to online cheating? I don't think it will ever go away completely. People will always do it as long as it is as easy to do as it is. Do I think there is an obvious way to significantly reduce the amount of cheating on this, my favorite chess server, lichess.org/? YES!
But is the cure worse than the disease? That's the question I pose to whoever is reading this.
My proposed solution is simple. Hide the rating system. Make ratings viewable only to the person it's assigned to and only then after that person has proven, through so many games played, that they aren't going to just make another account if they aren't satisfied with it. Only make updates of this viewable rating weekly or monthly. I believe this will deter players who cheat greatly. If nothing else they will play on other sites. This wouldn't change anything either. The ratings will still be there. Players will still have the option of not being paired with people too far from their own rating. The ratings will simply become private and therefore less important to ego and more important as far as personal accomplishment. Most importantly, I believe that the average person's ability to enjoy the game will be enhanced and that all players will benefit from not worrying about their rating or losing rating points to cheaters.
Please post what you think about my idea to address the problem of cheating and anything else you might like to ad to this article. The points I made here are only my opinion and I'm equally interested in hearing yours on this topic. Thank you for taking the time to read this, inkspot