How to deal with cheaters in online chess? • page 1/5 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

For a long time, I have been facing the problem of cheaters in online chess. How to deal with them? I see that they don't plague the Titled players so much but the non-Titled players. And, a good chess gaming experience is ruined by playing cheaters. So, can anyone tell me how to deal with cheaters in online chess? A good strategy?

MrScribbles

#2

Hi friend, I think you're overestimating the number of online cheaters. At our level (1700-1800) the cheaters will usually climb much higher and not remain here very long. I would guess the amount of cheaters is 3% or less, and they usually get marked by Lichess pretty quick.

bufferunderrun edited

#3

You deal with them by sending us a https://lichess.org/report
Just remember, not everyone you (not directed to you personally) lose to is a cheater and we do not appreciate public shaming.

You deal with them by sending us a https://lichess.org/report Just remember, not everyone you (not directed to you personally) lose to is a cheater and we do not appreciate public shaming.

bruhmomentum2007

#4

Yes I feel recently there has been a spike in forum posts regarding cheaters, and sometimes they do not belong in the sub-forum (ie. topics about cheaters in the general-chess forum).

Wolfx1x

#5

yes cheaters do suck and not in a good way just report them if you think they are cheating they will look into it

PuzzleBro edited

#6

Edit: It looks like there have been a few replies since I started typing with similar sentiments. I'm glad for this community.

How to deal with them? Use the report button. It's an annoyance, but you'll eventually get your rating points refunded. The more of them that get banned, the more information the detection system has, the better it gets, but reports from players can expedite the process a lot. Here are some things not to do, no matter how much it is wasting your time.

Don't call people out. Especially not in public, but also not in private. If they are cheating, it's not going to phase them, or it could even tip them off that a ban is incoming and cause them to make a new account. It's more likely that they're doing it to spite others and get a cheap thrill than build a reputation. And if they weren't cheating, you're probably just going to annoy them or hurt their feelings. Neither case is optimal. Never give them the satisfaction of knowing that they got to you.
Don't cheat back. Two wrongs don't make a right, as they say. It's just going to get your account flagged/banned too. The rating loss is temporary, and there's a whole community here of honest players who would miss you very much.
Don't assume that every tactic or idea that you miss is someone else cheating. The only one you should be comparing yourself to is you. That's how we grow. While not all engine moves seem to follow a coherent plan, most of them make sense in hindsight. You can still learn from the games.
Don't let it spoil your fun too much. It's a waste of time, and I know time is precious, but for the love of the game and those it brings together, we can look past that and focus on the good times. We're not living in the 70s, and your government isn't going to nearly ruin your life because you lost like that time when Mark Taimanov lost to the engine known as Bobby Fischer 6-0. If you feel too frustrated, don't go on tilt and start losing because your head isn't in the game anymore. Take a break and come back fresh.

Edit: It looks like there have been a few replies since I started typing with similar sentiments. I'm glad for this community. How to deal with them? Use the report button. It's an annoyance, but you'll eventually get your rating points refunded. The more of them that get banned, the more information the detection system has, the better it gets, but reports from players can expedite the process a lot. Here are some things not to do, no matter how much it is wasting your time. 1. Don't call people out. Especially not in public, but also not in private. If they are cheating, it's not going to phase them, or it could even tip them off that a ban is incoming and cause them to make a new account. It's more likely that they're doing it to spite others and get a cheap thrill than build a reputation. And if they weren't cheating, you're probably just going to annoy them or hurt their feelings. Neither case is optimal. Never give them the satisfaction of knowing that they got to you. 2. Don't cheat back. Two wrongs don't make a right, as they say. It's just going to get your account flagged/banned too. The rating loss is temporary, and there's a whole community here of honest players who would miss you very much. 3. Don't assume that every tactic or idea that you miss is someone else cheating. The only one you should be comparing yourself to is you. That's how we grow. While not all engine moves seem to follow a coherent plan, most of them make sense in hindsight. You can still learn from the games. 4. Don't let it spoil your fun too much. It's a waste of time, and I know time is precious, but for the love of the game and those it brings together, we can look past that and focus on the good times. We're not living in the 70s, and your government isn't going to nearly ruin your life because you lost like that time when Mark Taimanov lost to the engine known as Bobby Fischer 6-0. If you feel too frustrated, don't go on tilt and start losing because your head isn't in the game anymore. Take a break and come back fresh.

Onyx_Chess

#7

This is what we do about cheaters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Wiok4H1RY

This is what we do about cheaters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Wiok4H1RY

Mrchess78