While the dispute between chess world champion Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann about possible cheating of the US teenager continues, Vincent Keymer, the best German player and at 17 also Germany’s youngest chess grandmaster, spoke up and explained how difficult it was is to cheat at a game.
Vincent Keymer has already achieved great things this year. At the Julius Baer Generation Cup, the competition where things escalated between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann, the 17-year-old German chess professional worked his way up to the semi-finals, where he lost to world champion Carlsen. Now the chess grandmaster has spoken about the problems with cheating in his favorite sport.
“It’s very difficult to filter that out, especially when it comes to very good players,” Keymer said insports show“-Interview. It’s still quite easy to find out for amateurs. But: “If a top player plays a particularly good game, you don’t know for sure. Very good players can also play very strong games,” explained the 17-year-old, referring to the difficulties in proving cheating – despite all attempts.
Various measures were tried at the Generation Cup, revealed Keymer. “There was a front camera, a side camera for anti-cheating, filming the room, ears are also partially scanned. Measures are already in place to prevent cheating because there is a lot of money and prestige at stake,” he said. In normal online tournaments, on the other hand, it is quite simple.
Germany’s chess ace: “There are already hurdles”
“Even if cameras are there: You can place them differently – you can’t prevent that. You can only solve so many problems [Hürden] as possible,” continued the German, who has been one of the 50 best chess players in the world since July 2022 and will soon be promoted to super grandmaster.
“In most top tournaments there are regulations that the organizers reserve the right to perform room, ear or other scans on randomly selected people,” Keymer continued. This has nothing to do with suspicions, but is intended as a safeguard for everyone. “I think it’s pretty difficult to cheat with that. Of course you can still manage it somehow, but there are hurdles,” said the 17-year-old German.
In a direct duel on the board it is even more difficult, Keymer continues. “At the Chess Olympiad, there were metal detectors. Often there are even scanners that detect radio waves. A lot is already being done to prevent cheating,” he explained, adding: “The problem is quite big, because the engines are so much stronger than the humans.”