FIDE Launches Online Chess Playing Arena with AceGuard Super-Strong Anti-Cheating System

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone, 

Here is some fantastic chess news: FIDE president Kirsan Ilyuzhinov today announced the launch of the beta version of the FIDE online chess playing arena. FIDE's official Internet playing platform has been developed in co-operation with CNC. In October 2013, after the Executive Board meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, the fully operational version of FIDE online arena will be in service and available all over the world.

FIDE president said, "FIDE firmly believes that online chess offers enormous opportunities for millions of chess lovers who are unable to regularly participate in over-the-board events for a variety of reasons: professional and family commitments, problems reaching tournaments and other difficulties, etc. Now FIDE makes the virtual real with an online arena that allows players to compete in top class tournaments with official FIDE ratings. The attractiveness and ease of online chess will also draw millions of new players - in particular the young. FIDE online arena will be an important step in achieving my goal of '1 billion chess players' throughout the world."

Some features of the online arena include:
- A highly sophisticated chess anti-cheating system AceGuard. Until now, it has been impossible to award official ratings for online chess because of the difficulty in preventing cheating. Now AceGuard will be an invaluable tool in the fight against cheaters. PremiumChess company has developed this revolutionary technology.
- When the full version of FIDE online arena starts in October, every move of every game played by full arena members will be monitored and extensively analyzed by the anti-cheating system and a special team of experts, creating a fair playing venue for all. 
- While it is not possible to prevent some players from cheating, this constant highly detailed monitoring guarantees that they can be successfully identified and appropriate action taken. Every member's playing history is evaluated with a Fairness Index rating, allowing you to see quickly if an opponent is reliable or not.
- In addition, FIDE online arena offers a complete chess experience online: challenge games and tournaments, master challenge matches and simuls, free master lessons and lectures, full statistical analysis, broadcasts of major FIDE events, chat, game files, multi-lingual interface and much more - all from the comfort of your home or anywhere elsewhere you happen to be.
- So now you can enjoy all the features that FIDE online arena has to offer and very soon play in official FIDE events night or day, seven days a week.

Click on the screenshot or check out the FIDE online chess playing arena at this link.

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Now Chess Cheating by Italian Politician Loris Cereda?

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

We wondered 'Is this for real?' on reading this article in The Independent.

Cheque mate? Italian mayor accused of taking bribe now faces chess disgracePolitician kicked out of game after odd winning streak is linked to scam involving dark glasses 

by MICHAEL DAY, MILAN, TUESDAY 29 JANUARY 2013

When Loris Cereda, the then mayor of the Mob-infiltrated town of Buccinasco near Milan, was filmed in March 2011 allegedly taking a €10,000 (£8,500) bung in exchange for handing out a lucrative public contract for a shopping centre, people sighed, but no one was terribly surprised.

But underlining how there’s no apparent end to the perfidy of Italy’s public officials, Mr Cereda has now become the first person ever to be kicked out of the Italian Chess Federation. During three recent league games, Mr Cereda’s mediocre playing level suddenly and mysteriously rose to that approaching an international master, say his accusers. And this improvement in form coincided with him wearing strange, thick-set dark glasses.

Following his Bobby Fischer moves and the Roy Orbison shades, several players complained and the federation earlier this week suspended Mr Cereda, who is a member of Silvio Berlusconi’s PDL (People of Freedom Party). The federation claims he had a tiny camera installed in the specs and an earpiece conveying advice from someone with access to a powerful chess computer – allegations the former mayor denies.

“I’ve never cheated nor used strange technology during the matches,” said Mr Cereda, who is currently on trial following the alleged 2011 bribery incident in which he was seen on CCTV being presented with a bag containing €10,000 by the construction firm and then walking off with it.

“There are some tournaments in which I played well but many others which went badly. Nearly all the tournaments are played in the presence of a referee and a fair number of spectators,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’ve never been less than a good sport –and as someone who loves this sport, I could not, or even imagine doing such a thing.”

But Rosa Palone, the president of Buccinasco’s town council and a member of the centre-left Democratic Party, said the case of Mr Cereda was “a worrying indication” of the problem of corruption among Italy’s public officials.

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Nice chess fair play show by Navara, Moiseenko at World Cup of Chess

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011

Hi everyone,

In these times of cheating in chess, there's been a fair play show! Chessdom has carried a nice story about David Navara (Czech Republic) and Alexander Moiseenko (Ukraine). Navara was on the verge of converting a decisive material advantage  (Queen vs Rook) against Moiseenko.

It was inevitable for the advantage or checkmate would follow if the latter tried to save the situation... and Navara offered draw. This is what both the grandmasters have to say.

David Navara: – On the 35th move I accidentally touched both pieces, the King and the Bishop. I wanted to move my bishop on d6, but clipped the King also, however, Moiseenko claims that I have first touched the King, but I am not sure about that. Any move with the King would lead to the loss of the piece, however, Moiseenko did not insist that I make a move according to the touch rule. I did not want to be referred to as an unethical chess player who managed to win in an unfair way, that is why at the end, having achieved the winning position, I offered a draw.

Alexander Moiseenko: – Navara on the 35th move first touched the King. I told him: the King moves. However, I realized that my opponent accidentally made this mistake, it is not possible that he could so easily blunder the piece. This is the reason I did not insist on his move with the King.

Let us remind you that if you are knocked out in the 3rd round you get 12800 dollars, and the qualification for the 4th one guarantees you the minimum prize of 20 000 dollars. Besides, the winner of this match will continue fighting for three tickets to the World Championship.

The extraordinary situation was commented by Chessdom expert – Grandmaster Sergey Shipov:
- I think that both opponents acted in an extremely honorable way. Today, in these difficult times, our heroes are risking the qualification to the next round, which means jeopardizing serious money for the sake of preserving their reputation.

This story came to knowledge of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Ugra Governor. Natalia Komarova declared on her decision to establish a special prize of the World Cup – 'Fair play':
- No doubt that the whole world will highly appreciate the mutually noble deed of the Ukrainian and Czech chess players. We go for nobility, at the chess board as well as in the everyday life.

- I am very proud of both sportsmen who acted in accordance with FIDE motto: Gens Una Sumus, – summed up

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From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com