Dealing with Cheaters: Do's and Don'ts • page 1/1 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

While some users complain whenever the topic is raised, cheating is an important topic for any online chess website. There are smart ways to respond to it and not-so-smart ways. In two years time, I've reported several cheaters who were banned in short order. I like to think my reports, and the reports of others like me, have helped Lichess, in a small way, be the great chess environment that it is.

This may be a little presumptuous, but here's a list of Do's and Don'ts in regards to dealing with cheating.

DO'S

If you have confirmed your suspicions, do report suspected cheaters to the mods. To do so, simply click the triangle-with-exclamation-mark icon on the user's profile.
When you file a report, do include links to a minimum of 3 recent suspicious games for the moderators to look at. If you give the investigator something to start with, it helps immensely. Include a one-line summary of each game and what seems wrong before the link, thus:
"Player A v. Player B. Rapid. 42 moves. 0 inaccuracies, 0 mistakes, 0 blunders. Avg Centipawn Loss: 6." [Link to game on next line.]
Do look for intermittent engine use. In my experience, few players use an engine for every game. Far more common is for a player to resort to cheating when he's had a string of two or three losses, use the engine for a couple games, and then resume playing without the engine. To uncover behavior like this is time consuming and may require looking at 20 or more games.
Do look for abnormally low Avg Centipawn Losses. If an 1800-level player or less is turning in multiple games with ACL's of 20 or lower, that's suspicious.
Do remember it's human nature to suspect cheating when you've been beaten. Be aware of this quirk of the brain and keep it in check. If you are starting to think that more than 10% of the players you are encountering are cheating, the problem is almost certainly with you, not them.
Do remember you can never be 100% certain a player is cheating--nor is it your place to make that call. Remember you are filing reports on SUSPECTED cheaters and let the mods do their thing, using tools you don't have. If your report doesn't result in a ban, let it go and move on.

DON'TS

Don't ever accuse another player of cheating, either in the game's chat or publicly in the forums.
Don't file a report if you've found only 1 or 2 games you think are suspect. Anyone can hit the lottery and play a perfect game once in awhile. Instead, make a note regarding the player and check his game history a week later. If you can find additional games that stink of engine use, then file the report.
Don't complain endlessly about cheats and cheating in the forums. Put your energy into investigating game histories and filing reports. The large majority of players on Lichess are honest and reading complaint after complaint about cheating is tiresome.
Don't upbraid other users, particularly newbies, for complaining of cheats or discussing cheaters. A passionate desire for fair play is a good thing. Either skip the discussion if you have no patience for it or help the user become better at complaining less and doing the work of cheat detection more.

While some users complain whenever the topic is raised, cheating is an important topic for any online chess website. There are smart ways to respond to it and not-so-smart ways. In two years time, I've reported several cheaters who were banned in short order. I like to think my reports, and the reports of others like me, have helped Lichess, in a small way, be the great chess environment that it is. This may be a little presumptuous, but here's a list of Do's and Don'ts in regards to dealing with cheating. DO'S 1. If you have confirmed your suspicions, do report suspected cheaters to the mods. To do so, simply click the triangle-with-exclamation-mark icon on the user's profile. 2. When you file a report, do include links to a minimum of 3 recent suspicious games for the moderators to look at. If you give the investigator something to start with, it helps immensely. Include a one-line summary of each game and what seems wrong before the link, thus: "Player A v. Player B. Rapid. 42 moves. 0 inaccuracies, 0 mistakes, 0 blunders. Avg Centipawn Loss: 6." [Link to game on next line.] 3. Do look for intermittent engine use. In my experience, few players use an engine for every game. Far more common is for a player to resort to cheating when he's had a string of two or three losses, use the engine for a couple games, and then resume playing without the engine. To uncover behavior like this is time consuming and may require looking at 20 or more games. 4. Do look for abnormally low Avg Centipawn Losses. If an 1800-level player or less is turning in multiple games with ACL's of 20 or lower, that's suspicious. 5. Do remember it's human nature to suspect cheating when you've been beaten. Be aware of this quirk of the brain and keep it in check. If you are starting to think that more than 10% of the players you are encountering are cheating, the problem is almost certainly with you, not them. 6. Do remember you can never be 100% certain a player is cheating--nor is it your place to make that call. Remember you are filing reports on SUSPECTED cheaters and let the mods do their thing, using tools you don't have. If your report doesn't result in a ban, let it go and move on. DON'TS 1. Don't ever accuse another player of cheating, either in the game's chat or publicly in the forums. 2. Don't file a report if you've found only 1 or 2 games you think are suspect. Anyone can hit the lottery and play a perfect game once in awhile. Instead, make a note regarding the player and check his game history a week later. If you can find additional games that stink of engine use, then file the report. 3. Don't complain endlessly about cheats and cheating in the forums. Put your energy into investigating game histories and filing reports. The large majority of players on Lichess are honest and reading complaint after complaint about cheating is tiresome. 4. Don't upbraid other users, particularly newbies, for complaining of cheats or discussing cheaters. A passionate desire for fair play is a good thing. Either skip the discussion if you have no patience for it or help the user become better at complaining less and doing the work of cheat detection more.

keruya

#2

I've reported the same guy multiple times and yet his account is still not closed.

GSP0113 edited

#3

@keruya All I can suggest is to be sure to file a report with links to at least 3 games that are highly suspect. (For example: Games with 0 mistakes, 0 blunders, and an Avg Centipawn Loss of <20.) The more games, the better. If you've filed a report like that, with good evidence, it's all you can do. The ban may occur after a few days or even a couple weeks if the investigator wants to analyze more games.

If the ban never occurs, just shrug it off and move on. Rest assured that if the person was cheating, and continues to cheat, it will catch up with him sooner or later.

@keruya All I can suggest is to be sure to file a report with links to at least 3 games that are highly suspect. (For example: Games with 0 mistakes, 0 blunders, and an Avg Centipawn Loss of <20.) The more games, the better. If you've filed a report like that, with good evidence, it's all you can do. The ban may occur after a few days or even a couple weeks if the investigator wants to analyze more games. If the ban never occurs, just shrug it off and move on. Rest assured that if the person was cheating, and continues to cheat, it will catch up with him sooner or later.

GyrythII

#4

DO: Block them so you never have a problem with them again and move on - it's now somebody else's problem and they will get caught eventually.

DON'T: Waste your life trying to be a chess vigilante.

DO: Block them so you never have a problem with them again and move on - it's now somebody else's problem and they will get caught eventually. DON'T: Waste your life trying to be a chess vigilante.

GSP0113 edited

#5

@GyrythII If you want to pass the problem on to someone else, fine. But don't insult members of this community who take the time to file reports on suspected cheaters. Doing so isn't being a "chess vigilante" -- it's helping the moderators do their job of identifying and banning cheaters.