Check Mate for Chess Cheats
A recent news article reported that “a chess grandmaster has been thrown out of an international tournament and faces a 15-year ban after he was caught sneaking to the toilet to check moves on his mobile phone. Gaioz Nigalidze, the current Georgian champion, was expelled from the Dubai Open Chess tournament when he was found using his phone in the middle of a match. The two-time national champion was exposed when his opponent lodged a complaint when he grew suspicious about his frequent trips to the lavatory.
Tournament organisers found Nigalidze had stored a mobile phone in a cubicle, covered in toilet paper. This is not the first time a player was caught cheating at a chess tournament.
In July 2013, Bulgarian player Borislav Ivanov was suspended from playing for four months by his national federation.
It had been found most of his moves matched those of the leading computer chess analysis programs.
Two years earlier the French chess federation suspended three players, including the national team captain, when it was alleged they used text messages, a remote chess computer and coded signals to beat the opposition at the 2010 Chess Olympiad.
In 2008, at the Dubai Open, an Iranian player was banned when he was found to be receiving help from someone watching the game’s live broadcast on the internet and was sending the moves through text messages.
Tournaments sanctioned by the International Chess Federation – including the Dubai Open – do not allow players to carry mobile phones and other electronic devices during matches.”
So, it is a clear case of Check Mate for Chess Cheats!
H3 Notes the close links between Chess and Mathematics…
“Both are based on logic. Any mathematical resonnement and any chess resonnement can be reduced to more basic formalized logic systems, which is why we have calculators and chess computers.
Every element of the chess game is well-defined, which makes it theoretically possible to fully grasp it through logic and mathematics. However, the sheer complexity gives rise to less well-defined themes and concepts which are far easier for the mind to grasp than the brute-force tactics (which even the best computers can’t solve to the end), so while being good at logic and maths (working with well-defined concepts) is probably a plus when it comes to tactics, it doesn’t dictate your chess skill – far from it.
They also share concepts such as calculation, algorithms, (e)valuation (of pieces and positions), combinatorics and arguably, matrices and patterns.” Source here.
Postscript: Former Australian chess teacher Geoff Butler suggests that, The chess board could be used to teach kids as young as five coordinates in mathematics, even though it’s written in Year 3 mathematics syllabus”. He estimates it would cost around $1200 a year in 2010 – $1326.20 inflation adjusted – to teach a classroom of kids how to play chess once a week in tuition fees. Mr Butler said he has seen first hand many benefits in teaching children how to play chess.
“A lot of bright kids disengage with school because it’s too easy. But chess, used properly, can motivate them,” he said. “It develops your concentration span, develops your problem solving ability, develops your concept of actions and consequences and teaches you self-regulation.” Read the full article here.
