How to Spot a Cheater Before Your Game Even Starts

@doughnut42 said in #19:
> It's interesting the lengths you go to indirectly accuse me of cheating, really reminds me of Kramnik with his "statistics".
Satisfy my curiosity, because I don't mind abandoning the game to someone I suspect of cheating, even though I would lose anyway. But why give these sadists this pleasure? I should reach a ridiculous ELO soon, but how do you manage to have such a high one? Won't you join us, plebs? Come to the Lichess tournaments every hour, face cheaters, and have your ELO lowered, even with great pride. No need to respond, I'm not being hostile, just a comment from a PITA person.

You can't grasp all of these possible indications within the tiny 20-30 seconds to start the game.

The only instant giveaways are extreme gaps between categories (2300 blitz <--> 1000 rapid or vice versa), which can be due to either cheating or matchfixing, and in the latter case you won't even get your rating points back.
Or if someone with a relatively poor (and unfixed) rating is in Top 10 of weekly rapid even after 3 hours, where they should never be under normal circumstances ...

@Cedur216 said in #22:
> You can't grasp all of these possible indications within the tiny 20-30 seconds to start the game.
>
> The only instant giveaways are extreme gaps between categories (2300 blitz <--> 1000 rapid or vice versa), which can be due to either cheating or matchfixing, and in the latter case you won't even get your rating points back.
> Or if someone with a relatively poor (and unfixed) rating is in Top 10 of weekly rapid even after 3 hours, where they should never be under normal circumstances ...

I saw your posts about cheating and how Lichess moderators have an almost impossible job in this fight against cheaters, I didn't know that, I even thought Liches had left it alone, so I was happy to know about this painful work and I also want to make it clear that cheaters are not that important in my humble opinion, what's more important is our passion for playing chess, ok, a little dramatic, but anyway, I love playing chess, lol...

@AmyLoveChess said in #2:
> first
Hi worst enemy

So, how is this going to help? You have 30s prior your first move to see if thay are a likely cheater. And if so, you have to cancel the game, for which you get a warning at first and probably escalating measures if you do this often.

And, if it was that simple, Lichess could just shut down the accounts...

"your rating and your nerves aren’t refunded"
* Rating is refunded, and even if it is not, the rating system readjusts your rating quickly. After an undue loss you are underrated and so you gain rating back from future opponents quickly.
As for nerves, that is a matter of attitude.

This probably wasn't cheating but I was suspicious when one opponent kept leaving, (you can claim a win in so many seconds), and somehow I was the one who ran out of time.

i spotted one