Tricks of the trade (?!)
Mark Weeks
"I am a television researcher interested in chess! We are making a
program about 'tricks of the trade' in various different sports all over
the World. We are interested in several stories about chess players
using concealed computers to win, kicking under the table, to using
yogurt as a code, and clubbing opponents to death! Do you have any
details, i.e. when, where, and who have experienced such incidents?
People seem to know of them - but are not knowledgeable enough to give
us details! Any response would be appreciated!"
...and thought I'd post it here. I responded on the yogurt...
"The yogurt incident happened during the 1978 Karpov - Korchnoi world
championship match. This was just one of many bizarre incidents which
occurred during that match. There were also problems involving
parapsychologists, guru terrorists, handshaking, chair swiveling, draw
offers, mirror sunglasses, rigged opening analysis, & misinformation to
the press on adjourned positions. This all occurred against a background
of political intrigue because Korchnoi had defected from the Soviet
Union a few years earlier."
...but the other incidents mentioned in the original message seem to be
more in the category of urban legend. Does anyone know if they've
happened at the professional level? - MW
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Anders Thulin
addressed to the discussion gruoup, take an unholy time to actually
get here.
So this is a manual posting ... hope the e-mail reply doesn't
turn up too soon after.
In article <88tr3a$nls$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
Mark Weeks <10004...@compuserve.com> wrote:
> I received the following message...
>
> "I am a television researcher interested in chess! We are making a
> program about 'tricks of the trade' in various different sports all
over
> the World. We are interested in several stories about chess players
> using concealed computers to win, kicking under the table, to using
> yogurt as a code, and clubbing opponents to death! Do you have any
> details, i.e. when, where, and who have experienced such incidents?
> People seem to know of them - but are not knowledgeable enough to give
> us details! Any response would be appreciated!"
The concealed computer has (probably) happened a couple of times,
though not at high-ranked events. I remember one discussed in
rec.games.chess (it was a few years ago), in which a player (who I think
went by the
nom de guerre of "Turing", or possibly another computer-related name)
was strongly suspected of receiving move advice through his
Walkman-like headset from a confederate probably equipped with a pair of
binoculars, a chess computer and a walkie-talkie.
For the others, I recall William Hartston wrote a
`test yourself' article in Games & Puzzles (UK) many years ago,
in which the reader could test his ability to cheat in style.
It was later republished in one of Hartston's books --
I think it was "How to cheat at chess". That book also gives
a few examples of other cheating at chess. Highly recommended.
Another possible source is Underhanded Chess by Jerry Sohl
(Hawthorn Books, 1973).
Matulovic, playing against Bilek in the interzonal at Sousse 1967,
took back a losing move, saying 'Ich spreche j'adoube'. Well known.
Georg Marco, I think it is, tells about an occasion when cheating
would have been useful. In a game against Marshall, they decided to
draw after, say, 20 moves. That was not permitted according to the
rules,
so they agreed to play just about anything up to the 30th move, after
which the draw was permitted. During this random movement of pieces,
one
of the players -- I think Marshall -- suddenly got a big advantage,
and if he had decided to break the drawing agreement, would have won.
But he didn't. (This is from memory -- I can't even remember where
in Wiener Schachzeitung this is told. But that's where I saw it.)
I don't think cheating is that common -- but there is that fine
art of gamesmanship: how to win without really cheating. Some old
chess author recommends placing the board so that the opponent gets the
light in his eyes ... and the book by Hartston already mentioned
has lots of other suggestions in this area, in particular for
so-called 'friendly games'.
Clubbing opponents to death ... sounds like that is covered in one of
the chapters of The Even More Complete Chess Addict. Well, grievous
bodily
harm and chess certainly is, anyway.
--
Anders Thulin a...@algonet.se
http://www.algonet.se/~ath