Longer Games #27 Climbing the 2500 mountain... Am I playing a cheat or not!?

[@TheChessViking]

The timing in the opening is a dead giveaway, almost no need to look at the rest. 10 seconds for cxd4 and Qxh8 is almost enough for me :-(

[@alkanliszt]

Zibbit I "enjoyed" the ten seconds to recapture the queen at 19.11. ;)

[@TheChessViking]

hehe yeah :-)

[@3f34f2f4]

100% agree. 10 seconds to make the simple recaptures as well as 10 seconds to make the complex moves.

[@torestgard1681]

I enjoyed the analysis from Ginger_GM, but knowing he was playing a cheat lowered my interest. Ginger should report and sue this guy for costing him money. Great instructive video almost ruined by 10 seconds constant move, hard or not. This guy doesn't trust his own chess skills and needs the computer. GingerGM loses to computer.

[@tonycruse3648]

Network issues? We don't all enjoy a solid wi-fi signal. He got disconnected through the game.

[@linear7612]

Even when it turns out like this, thank you very much for the game and please continue explaining the openings, your commentary always helps a lot! Keep on fighting the good fight, Simon!

[@RobertBrown-ke8zp]

I vote for the explaining as you play the moves. That is the best!

[@tlee7653]

Even when you are playing against a computer, you contemporaneous commentary is very instructive.

[@jimmcaree6788]

I'm really enjoying these videos Simon. I notice that your opponent was only rated 768 (highest 1009) on tactics, which of course doesn't explain how he came up with most of the moves he played here. Nevertheless, this series is really, really valuable for amateurs like myself. Long may it continue! Keep up the good work!

[@Moodleprof]

Whether or not you're playing an engine Simon, the videos are extremely interesting from a viewer perspective. Watching how you analyse the position and select your moves is highly educational for a patzer like me. Thanks :)

[@ivanvitez2128]

the more longplay videos you make the more i like this channel :)

[@thearm95]

38:20 wow, carnage

[@mcpartridgeboy]

Instriuctive game for those of us learning the French, thanks Simon, for me it didn't matter if he was cheating.

[@riccardovianello9598]

I'd really love to see THIS Simon against John Bartholomew

[@sooooooooDark]

everytime u say "bloody cheat" i giggle 😂

[@terrabitic7090]

Lichess compensates you rating points if you play against a cheater and it is detected, so it might be a good option to play there instead.

[@noseonscent1935]

It's not. In the thousands of games I have personally played on Lichess, about 38% involved cheating. Only 2 (TWO!!) were ever caught by their cheat bot software! What a joke, even in longer time controls.

[@steelyspielbergo]

I have like 30k games in Lichess. I've felt like I played a cheater three or four times, and they were marked as cheaters by the next day

[@noseonscent1935]

mike spence lucky you Mike. My experience is grotesquely opposite. I have played buckets and buckets of cheats. Vast majority have escaped undetected.

[@alexok8980]

If you think you're playing 40% cheaters on lichess, you report them, and they aren't getting banned, you're most likely just paranoid and don't want to accept that you actually lost.

[@noseonscent1935]

birdpatzer sorry Birdpatzer I am quite sure. The problem is I mostly play anonymously vs anonymous. End of story

[@HipHopAn0n]

The h4 move looked pretty rational to me - open up the kingside where White has his queen. Tough to say whether or not the opponent was legit

[@7opher619]

It was more about the prepatory moves that had multiple deep ideas behind them. Ones where the pay off isn't even so obvious until a few moves later. That and it taking him basically the same amount of time to make completely obvious only moves as the deep complicated ones is where it screams cheater.

[@martinconneally8756]

You say I hope I'm not playing a cheat then immediately play a cheater. If that happens to a Gm think about us little guys. What happens when a cheater plays a cheater? Two guys engine battling🤣that's so funny.

[@swedlifeboiii9619]

Us little guys dont have to worry about cheats as they are rated much higher than us :) Engine v engine would happen alot, at some point they both realise they're playing an engine and it becomes a game of cheat chicken, who is willing to cheat more and risk account ban.

[@welunch-bedrijfslunchencat154]

Lichess does exactly that! They call it 'shadow banning': cheaters don't know that they have been detected and are actually logging into a second identical server that only contains other cheaters :) See: this video where Thibault Duplessis explains (17:00 onwards)

[@MatteoGariglio]

Hey Simon, even though that was "clearly" a cheat, the video was still very instructive! Playing against computer can teach a lot as well... as "AI Leela" is showing us :)

[@RBG9000]

This series has taught me how to think through to my moves, and also that chess.com is thrash!

[@jimkyle8008]

A very interesting game with great explanations of the ideas behind the opening and middlegame plans by Simon, as always. The suspicion that the opponent was almost certainly cheating doesn't detract from the quality of the commentary. Personally, I can't understand the mentality of anyone using a computer program in an online chess game.

[@TheRealBenJammin]

White: 2 Inaccuracies/2 Mistakes /1 Blunders /28 Average centipawn loss; Black: 3 Inaccuracies/3 Mistakes/1 Blunders 40 Average centipawn loss (LiChess analysis). I think this one was trying to be clever in managing centipawn loss to dodge the cheat detection. EDIT: Account closed.

[@kishanmodi7158]

Must be a cheat, not for beating Simon but for playing very unnatural and good moves

[@herzwatithink9289]

If not players you know, then titled players generally I guess. It would seem to be a good idea for these sites to have a vetting system for all players above, say, 2000 -- the chess com equivalent of a twitter blue check mark, but less dodgy.

[@andreburger9932]

Juste excellent!!! Meme si je comprend qu une petite partie d'anglais, j'apprend beaucoup !!! merci !!!

[@wfcyellow]

Tactics rating of 768 which, even for your average creep of a cheat, is stunningly, pathetically low. And all the evidence needed. Engine.

[@wfcyellow]

Are you pretending to be 2000+ too? If not then it's a fully acceptable rating. It's low for a 2000 player

[@hex7332]

whyaremeninmyshoes I'm a little over 1600 and my tactics rating is over 2300. Well, obviously I don't play lot of long games.

[@josketobben]

Some people just don't do tactics you know.. Not saying it's not additional, valid evidence for this guy in particular, but you can't generalize it, you'd be throwing the casuals under the bus as well.

[@wfcyellow]

Joske Tobben nobody who is legitimately rated above 2,000 in slow play chess would ever, ever have a tactics rating of 768. The only valid low number would be 800 because this is the starting value and so if they had done no tactics whatsoever this is what it would be. It is not throwing casuals under the bus at all and you absolutely can generalise this rule to every single player.

[@hex7332]

whyaremeninmyshoes actually I think chess.com tactics rating open at 1200.

[@LoneWolf_2308]

Simon...your opponent have played with Leela chess Zero! This is the reason behind some moves don't have matched with sockfish on chess.com :-) LOL!!!

[@tommonk7651]

Simon, I know it is difficult to play people you suspect of cheating. I think it’s pretty clear this guy was. Guy played some strange, though good, moves. Still, don’t let it discourage you or keep you from playing random challenges. First, except for our own egos, our on-line rating means nothing. Don’t worry about it. Second, playing against a computer should help you with your analysis. It should make you a stronger player. I love the long play videos myself. The explanations are what is meaningful to us. When you miss stuff can be just as instructional as when you play perfectly. Keep up the good work!

[@cainethomas1019]

You rock Simon!

[@dilyan-2904]

12:40 no word about Ba3? Maybe because of QxRd8?

[@kieranmartin6030]

"Firing up Houdini?" LOL. Do 2200 players do that? BTW had to sub. Great instruction thanks.

[@number94]

Hey, Simon, why not appeal here for a number of strong opponents you could call upon? I'm too weak to be of any use but there must be some who would give you a good game.

[@patmepin15]

I don't understand why people cheat. What a waste of time for everyone. At least we know what Simon would do against Stockfish. Loved the commentary either way!

[@marcellodelira5601]

Cheating is a waste of time for the cheater, really.Simon has learned a great deal from this game and so have we , who understand chess.Doubt that`s the case with that measly fellow

[@TheDmillar]

Hmmm, rated 768 on tactics?

[@jamesa54321]

I like the opening explanation, but dont like it when i see you get a time disadvantage in the opening when you know which move you're gonna play already - compromise is good!

[@jamesa54321]

Also do play randoms but check their tactics rating! that guys was only 738

[@chrisatkeson4638]

Hey Simon, I am 1950 chess.com rapid. I would love to play you. I would say that 1/3 of the players I get paired with are cheating. I avoid most of them by scouting out their stats (Wins/Losses, ratings in other time controls, account age, etc). Make sure to report them. I've gotten rid of several guys who I knew were cheating.

[@threethrushes]

As echoed by others, I would happily take the chance to play a titled player with my modest rating of 1350 or so. A shame that our friends from far-away lands have such a propensity for deceit.

[@xoneeleven]

Paranoid? What makes you think I'm paranoid??????!!!!! :P

[@samuelhamon9240]

Just keep playing and having fun, cheaters have no soul!

[@noseonscent1935]

This Rahmani is a fritzin cheater in my humble opinion. The idea that a 2000 player casually beats up on a near 2600 player is absurd. Also he used half the time. Also thirdly, he logged out and logged back in which in my experience is about 85-95 % of the time also a sign of illicit consulting. He should be banned from chess.com. What a loser.

[@stuartmclaughlin2594]

That’s the risk playing online. Maybe he cheated maybe he didn’t. Who knows? Just have to take it on the chin. Face to face chess matches will always be better than online.

[@catman4727]

Thank you

[@stoneangel7804]

You played a great game tho ! Cheers Simon

[@dvojka10]

Simon, I really like your longer play, so interesting. But I have to say that it starts to feel little bit boring with this cheating opsessions

[@nanoboi101]

It's not his fault he's playing cheaters

[@joeb4142]

Luka Martić I guess he should ignore it 🙄

[@swedlifeboiii9619]

maybe it was john bartholemew alt account?

[@FuncraftVideos]

Just play on Lichess, they have a good cheat detection system.

[@dilyan-2904]

I remember matches vs Danny on 960 chess, can you play some 960 chess?

[@pursuantspy1557]

I normally agree with you simon but this seemed reasonable

[@Filemonefly9]

Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry "7 seconds"

[@danielspasov5234]

Nice one Si

[@dogukanozdemir7917]

while your opponent put it into a computer analysis maybe he chose the very first move that computer recommended this should be why he didn't play the top move there (29th move )

[@topgunbass]

thanks for the video

[@davidelederman7337]

There is maybe a option for playing titled players only?

[@vga1232]

Davide Lederman They also cheat :D

[@davidelederman7337]

In a cash tournament maybe, in an ordinary game there is no point

[@MrCooldude4172]

Really? If they get caught isn't their reputation irl completely tarnished?

[@richardswatman7027]

Sometimes I've felt your cheat radar was a little hyperactive... but not in this case. The most obvious cheater in any of your video's in my opinion! Keep up the great work Simon!

[@Xbox360SlimFan]

My blitz rating on lichess is around 1300. On chess.com i can't get over 1000. Feels like a lot of opponents cheat on chess.com

[@AboSir]

Computer assistance Fo Sho. No Hercule Poirot needed. I'm sure plenty of viewers would love a chance to play you.

[@johannesburgmines4328]

You should be quite psychotic if you needed to cheat against a GM in a broadcast game. It's a sign of living in a dream world.

[@AgentSmith911]

Simon, just check their profile before playing them. If they're 900 blitz after many games and they play like a 3500 rated engine, then they're probably a cheater. And if it's a brand new account, just avoid it. I think it's a good idea to only play players you know.

[@Proflaxis]

Chess.com has found a new algorithm to flush out the cheats. But how do you scale such an algorithm?

[@adamsasso1]

Absolutely a computer-aided opponent

[@dogukanozdemir7917]

was it bf5 playable after nb3

[@Proflaxis]

I think Simon enjoys not checking the creds before starting a game. He loves playing against stockfish masquerading as cheaters!! Come on Simon, don't be lazy next time.

[@meathead919]

The cheat games are the best Imo. Very deep and dynamic games. I know it's frustrating for ginger but well worth, fantastic value and teachings in this game.

[@teo6616]

Here you are Simon lichess analysis lichess.org/FLfAyvRi

[@kiickinballistics]

Yep, he was assisted. He played too many perfect moves. But a great game for the learning.

[@Socrates...]

Please play titled players in future

[@meathead919]

That g4 move was the giveaway. He def. cheated.

[@brabhamfreaman166]

Bombshell at 24:57 "...[Bobby Fisher] not [to be found] wandering the tournament hall but fixated to [sic] his chair." In the absence of a stupendously interesting chair, I would have expected Fisher to be *fixed* or even *glued* (metaphorically in both cases, of course!) to his chair and fixated *on* the chessboard before him. Post-translation this offers insight / confirmation of Fisher's extraordinary mental fortitude and powers of concentration. A formidable opponent indeed. Truly disappointing prevalence of cheaters at the longer time controls, but perhaps more concerning is the ease with which the half-decent player could disguise their immorality, eg. by making 'only moves' or standard recaptures manually, only setting the engine loose at critical points. I say it's a shame because, as a keen viewer of your work (including a tenuous link to ginger_gm via Danny Gormally who, as an IM , was the top player at a local club where he had a number of promising protégés - one of whom was a teammate of mine as an Undergraduate at my South-West alma mater...suffice to conclude by adding: this was over 15 years ago 😱, DGs name was dropped more than a few times and I was pleased to see him achieve his GM title in due course. Oh, and I *cringe* at the oft-ill pronounced GORmally, taking (as I do ) the view that a person name is to be enunciated as *they* prefer). In any case, look forward to many more youtuber collaborations in the future, to avoid silicon interference.

[@Silveria9999]

Opponent MFingchetereast. Report to admin, Simon!

[@realways6173]

rahmani is a girl from egypt.

[@inguh7041]

I think this person is a cheat, even if they may not have used the engine for 100% of their moves. His username is, what, rahmani_55? But I did learn some things from Simon's thought processes.

[@shikamarunara6244]

Hello Ginger i dont know whats up with these players for me it would be honor to play a slower game with GM. And i would really love to play you since we are both same type of player( tactical-attacking type) my clasical rating on lichess is around 2100 i have acc on chess.com but its a lot lower there since i play only on lichess but i can tell you my name if you want to add me and to play sometimes a longer game without cheater!

[@weavehole]

Ok, so why do people cheat on online chess? Is there any possibility of financial gain? Because there can’t be any personal satisfaction in it.

[@weavehole]

SSSniperKnight Brag to who though? Other anonymous people on the internet? I don't give a fuck about anyone else's rating. Unless they're genuinely the greatest players in the world. In which case they have an official FIDE rating or whatever. Bragging to his friends ? If they're chess players too they'll see right through it when they play OTB. But most of all the cheater themselves knows it's a fake rating. Why not just print out a certificate saying Olympic Speed Skate Champion or Best Director Oscar. It would be just as meaningless. Could be for trolling reasons... “haha I made a better player than me' s online rating go down by cheating against them.“ I wouldn't even mind that. I got beat by a human-engine hybrid, no biggie, I'll use the experience to get better. Still makes no sense to me. Silly twats. :)

[@TheMarcelism]

Consider using lichess.org, far fewer cheaters

[@Mcsqueegy]

That's completely false. Lichess simply bans them quicker so they're not noticed!

[@callmewisdom]

not true at that level

[@terrabitic7090]

I think Simon is sponsored by chess.com or has some kind of association with chess.com.

[@TheMarcelism]

That's what I meant. Lichess's cheater detection is far more advanced than Chess.com's.

[@John-hi4sp]

But wait! Lichess doesn't have a cheating detection system that has been "tested thoroughly by numerous leading statisticians in the field (see one such testimonial from Harvard)."

[@maikarets2361]

Sorry to see that you've been paired with a cheater again Simon. I've bought your DVD package and really enjoy it. Honestly, like other people are suggesting here, though, play on Lichess. Out of chess 24, chess.com and lichess, chess.com is by far the worst. I used to be premium there but not anymore. I refuse to give these people more money for their joke of a website. The Lichess player pool didn't used to be very strong, but now many strong players have joined, including Caruana, Magnus and plenty of others you get to play on the titled events they have. Make an account and get crackin!

[@faznaz7455]

He is obviously using a worse engine than stockfish if he's finding 2nd or 3rd choice moves in certain positions, that's all. A human wouldnt play some of these moves for sure, good on you for playing exceptional on the most part.

[@ken4747]

He could be intentionally using the 2nd or 3rd choice of Stockfish to allay suspicion.

[@Lewis5078]

Of course he'd use second and third choices to diminish suspicion. If you look at the account, he's gotten away with it for too long in my opinion. His account was finally banned though. He got one more game in after Simon. But can't he just make a new account? How does banning this account eliminate this cheat from the site?

[@faznaz7455]

Elliott Lewis You can't really do much about cheats making a new account, not an alternative that's cheap anyway just like the process u go through identifying yourself as a master (fide, gm,im etc.). Every chess website faces this problem. I analysed this game and remember that he took so long on a forced continuation that's completely obvious to me.

[@sepehrjafari7847]

in 19:04 why not NxRh5

[@VictorUdd]

sepehr jafari the knight is pinned by the queen. Aka if he moved the knight he would be in check. Therefore it's an illegal move

[@markphc99]

4 mins in , and i'd say definitely he is- bastard.

[@SuedeStonn]

I love the avatar of what looks like a 30-something or maybe 40-something-year-old person, when I have no doubt this 'rahmani_55' player is in his teens and thinks his using an engine isn't painfully obvious to anyone who's been playing chess online for even a small amount of time. :l Edit: I can tell you exactly where you went wrong, Simon... you played an engine, lol. I do have a question for anyone to answer, though: I haven't played on chess.com in quite a while so I can't remember, but does chess.com give back points lost to a cheater like lichess?

[@farshad.sadoughian]

surely a cheat

[@malegupta8404]

you pleyd very exellent agaisnt cheater yar usprb usperg he is plahying very fast faster thank gm simon

[@sacthequeen4295]

It seems that Simon plays an abnormally high number of cheaters... Or is that just how it is at high elo?

[@noteimportatenteras5605]

Sac the Queen. It is the high ELO, it makes sense because using a computer your rating goes up quickly. My rating is around 1500-1600 in Chess.com and I don't find I play against cheaters.

[@charliecharlie581]

I think the fact he’s a GM doesn’t help - cheaters obviously feel like they’ve achieved something if they ‘beat’ a titled player

[@Th3Wick3dOn3YT]

Chess.com is super common, stopped playing there after reporting so many. I mean rook moves in the end games that made no sense. I was 1900+ after that not much but to face cheats on rapid time controls.

[@z17seattle]

I think he is in a weird spot, a lot of cheaters can get to the 2000 level and stay around there but they are cautious to go much higher. The higher rated the cheater, the more likely he will be caught. There will be much less cheaters once he is playing 2200+

[@TheSpaceCadetMusic]

for the life of me ill never understand a cheater. i knew a computer can beat a GM before watching this video, so what is he trying to prove. he can edit his html while on chess.com to show he has a 4000 rating. just as effective and fools the exact same amount of people. is this fun for cheaters? i dont get it

[@ericmortensen791]

So that dude got thrown off of chess.com

[@ATX0705]

Rahmani_55 was recently banned for cheating.

[@AgricolaSuperbus]

What I don't get is the low rating of those guys. I mean all the "cheaters" over this series must have been casual cheaters who just felt like pulling out the engine against a GM. People that cheat frequently don't sit at 2000 elo.

[@richardgraham9114]

This account has been closed for violating our Fair Play rules. These rules help keep chess fair for everyone.

[@inguh7041]

rahmani_55's account has been closed.

[@noseonscent1935]

f5 Simon!?? So weakening.

[@ThomastheTank113]

Cheater, without a doubt

[@Elsonoliveira716]

1900

[@z17seattle]

Play against your viewers, we will never cheat you!

[@JS-zb9vx]

Play me! I won't cheat :(

[@traderdavidtan1855]

His tactics is only 768! He is an obvious scammer and cheater.

[@hattorihanzo2275]

The online chess cheat intrigues me. Why cheat? Nothing is gained nor learned. No one pats you on the back in real life and thinks your a chess champion. No one remembers your handle. Must be someone living a sad life it cheating at online chess makes them feel good about themselves.

[@brendan817]

You just hate to see that

[@Wingspan183]

Such an obvious cheater. I hope he got banned.

[@mihael1148]

Certainly a cheater.

[@jasperhalsey8574]

obviously he was cheating lol

[@unholysix6883]

Simon...just realize this is a fool's errand trying to get 2500 in slow games online. Your FIDE rating in carefully sanctioned and monitored tournaments is all the proof anyone should need of your strength. Why you continue to care about your Intenet Chess Cesspool rating is a mystery to me.

[@Max-Everest]

Chess.com is horrible in every way... I don't understand why anyone fucks with it.

[@Nebch12]

Honestly Simon your introduction is so obnoxious. I love and watch all of your videos but I skip past it every single time, the music is far too loud and grating.

[@callmewisdom]

I don't agree that it's obnoxious, but I do agree that it's too loud.

[@vga1232]

I like the intro but it is too loud and sudden :D

[@richardfredlund3802]

I really like the intro.

[@threethrushes]

I really like the introduction. It must be because I am British, and we appreciate the absurd, the bizarre, and most of all - we appreciate the quality of being original in a bland, sanitised world. However, you are cut from a different cloth, my good fellow.

[@tonycruse3648]

Yer Simon, you should spend more time answering your emails! Still waiting! I nearly bought a DVD off you! :)

[@gunnarsamuelsson4611]

obvious cheater using program.

[@backyard282]

I find it rather pathetic that Simon attempts to play for the 28th time a serious rapid time control game on chess.com despite so many cheaters. Play instead on lichess.org where, not only are there less cheaters, but they also give you rating points back if the computer detects the player to be a cheat, and detection system is of much higher quality than on chess.com. Lichess also has much, MUCH less lag and has extremely smooth interface because there are no ads; they have excellent analysis board and studies system, all for free, without begging for any premium memberships as it is free to play forever, and thus, they of course don't have pathetic staff like chess.com who bribe people like Ben Finegold into playing on chess.com rather than lichess.