Use of chess engine

I've decided to stop playing classical point-based games. I estimate that at least 50% of players use chess engines. It's inconceivable that a player can make mistakes at the beginning of a game due to lack of skill, only to become as skilled as a master when the game seems compromised. It's so obvious that this is cheating that I'm surprised the anti-cheating system doesn't detect it. They probably know how to circumvent the controls. And this naturally happens much more frequently in classical games, where there's more time to use computers. I hope we can limit this type of cheating. What do you think about this matter?

I've never encountered a cheater in classical.

Many people only start playing "for real" when they realize I'll put up a real fight but that's far from being an indication of cheating.

50% is also an outrageous estimate. As I said I've encountered two cheaters, zero of those in classical, that's just an anecdote of course. The "all games are cheated" folks will arrive in this thread shortly to congratulate you on this estimate I'm sure though.

If you suspect engine use, then report the game.
Do not get paranoid and do not attribute all your losses to cheating.

It still seems strange to me that a player continues to play a losing match and from that moment on stops making mistakes and, in fact, plays brilliantly. When this happens a little too often, I become more certain than a suspicion. No problem, though: I play without points, and who knows why this doesn't happen.

@Woland52 said in #4:

It still seems strange to me that a player continues to play a losing match and from that moment on stops making mistakes and, in fact, plays brilliantly. When this happens a little too often, I become more certain than a suspicion. No problem, though: I play without points, and who knows why this doesn't happen.

What I'm actually relatively sure about is that I somewhat regularly (far from 50% though) encounter sandbaggers, ie people who lower their rating artficially, they also have this playing style often. You can sometimes see it in their past ratings, or being able to beat people up 450 points.

But I take it as a free lesson, others pay to play stronger people.

On the other hand I (very seldom...) have games where I'm loosing and suddenly the ghost of Tal visits me and I start paying like a demon always two steps ahead.

Maybe it's a mix of things?

Do you have any games to share to look at? I bet someone here would look at it and tell you if you just made a mistake or something is amiss. I haven't had a game here where I thought someone was cheating, chess.com does have obvious cheaters and I closed my account there.

I have won games from -10 from weird things happening, also vice versa, chess is a weird back and forth game. Here is my most embarrassing example LOL

@Old-Gregg said in #6:

Do you have any games to share to look at? I bet someone here would look at it and tell you if you just made a mistake or something is amiss.
Posting game links claiming (or implying) that one one of the players was cheating violates the forum etiquette; such comments are usually deleted quickly by moderators.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going," is a popular proverb that the OP seems to not believe.
Many practice endgame more than they practice openings. So they blunder their openings and start getting more serious in the game as the game unfolds. Many play relaxed until they realize they are in a bind. Than they apply them selves. Everything is reflected in the speed of the moves.

Strong, resilient, and determined players will take action and persevere when faced with difficult circumstances.
So overcome the problem, rather than giving up or blaming others.

What doesn't convince me is when a player, mid-game, when he's clearly at a disadvantage, suddenly becomes strong and doesn't make any more mistakes. I don't think that's normal. I think someone has found a way to cheat by evading the controls. Try playing some classic games (20 + 10) and you'll see. I check for errors at the end of the game and it's not difficult to see if something is wrong.I would like to point out that for me it is not a problem. I just wanted to see if other players had the same impression as me. Greetings to all.

You can't separate a player's ethics in chess from their ethics in life; it's a fundamental part of who they are, and it influences every move they make.