I am wondering at what point does a player/account get labelled as a "computer user/ computer assisted etc"? What level of accuracy from an engine point of view do they consider to be too high? For example I just played this game:
In my last 17 moves I make 16 top computer moves and only 1x 2nd best move. The opening is what ever and when it mattered I went into full attack mode and played super accurate (regardless of my opponents mistakes).
So if this is considered not accurate (by engine standards) and is fine, then what is stopping anyone from using the engine "smartly"??? If all you have to do is play the first 10 moves of somewhat decent opening theory but not "the best moves" and then play best moves most of the time and a 2nd move here or there... how do you get caught? We can argue that if your accuracy is super high like this all the time then maybe its just too obvious? But then how do you get banned from just one game using this strat? or using this every 2nd or 3rd game etc. Was just curious as to the process (which I assume is a very tough one in the first place)
Hmmmm (lol just figured I have a lot of followers on this account to help get more people to answer or give their opinions on the matter)
In regards to cheating, I think that one game of insanely high levels of accuracy doesn’t warrant cheating. I am a 2000 rated player in real life and have had games with 99% accuracy or higher online. However, anyone can check my account and see that obviously I don’t play every game at this high accuracy and blunder a lot :D. When I suspect someone of cheating I check their account, and typically if I see a newer account that has jumped insanely high or is on a long winning streak of high accuracy games, it is more likely they may actually be using computer assistance. I believe the algorithms on sites like lichess close accounts for many games of perfect or near-perfect accuracy, not just for one or two brilliancies. I think that it is harder to catch cheaters who may play the second or third best moves for example, but that means they must already be pretty good at chess and then they wouldn’t really have a reason to cheat.
I think it's fair to say that accuracy plays a role. However a high accuracy in a one off game doesn't matter. You don't get banned for a one off 0/0/0 20 if it is eg. a common opening that humans learn and has a very simple end game or early resignation.
It's a mixture of accuracy, complaints per game ratio, detection of software, open tabs / leaving the game, the move time consistency and history of your account and talent.
And another assumption of noobs is that these wild Tal sacs means they are using an engine. Actually quite the opposite, if a player plays inaccurate sacrifices that look insane that tends to be more human. I can't count the times I have played a wild 7/4/3 89 Centi game because I made a wild Rook sac that happened to work then they point the finger. Engine use is much more subtle, positional. Sure it can be unnatural but unnatural doesn't always mean strong.
There are ways to catch cheaters and strange traps you can lay down when you are losing to force them to play computer moves lines. Or you get clues from their move times, taking time on obvious Queen swaps or one move mates because they are busy asking their engines. I would recommend watching Levi, Rosen and Chessbrah videos for good examples of this.
Also if they are taking the same amount of time each move it might be a sign of them teaching. Of course that alone doesn't mean they are cheating for sure, but it is one factor.
Okay okay maybe I was not clear lol. If I wanted to cheat... I could avoid basically everything you just said pretty easily tbh... and I am pretty strong obviously. Now of course why I would want to cheat is a whole different question, but if I created a random account under a random IP address and decided to see how far I could push this... I believe I could get quite far... Because all the things you pointed out I already know lol. So it comes back down to a case to case basis and a prolonged and very intricate algorithm of things that would determine someone is cheating... I suppose I could test this theory :P :P :P
@Lonerdruid yeah but I mean you are a very strong player. I'd say once you get to like 2000 level or maybe even lower there's really no point in cheating. If you invested that much time learning how to improve and getting to that advanced level, you wouldn't just throw it all away by cheating. Lower players might do it to try to climb faster but I mean there's really no point at our level, and obviously any level of chess to cheat.
Okay but this whole question/scenario is not about why you would cheat... its about how people get caught and what kind of level of accuracy/win rate/what ever is needed to be deemed a cheater lol. This is not about me wanting to be higher rated lol (for that I would just keep working and improving of course). This is about beating the system as it were (lol).
I think more than just accuracy, it's what the accurate moves achieve. An attack like in your example is very human, since you're building pressure on the kingside with the clear aim of checkmate. Contrast with a series of accurate, insidious maneuvers to put your opponents pieces on bad squares, which starts to look like an engine.
It's easier to be accurate when your opponent is at a disadvantage. If the correct moves are the obvious ones to take advantage of your opponent's bad position, a human and an engine are going to mostly agree on how to proceed.
If you're curious about how people cheat, there are youtube videos from some streamers who lost because of cheaters. The cheating tends to be very obvious. Some cheaters begin by playing a bunch of random moves and then suddenly play with extreme precision. Some cheaters play every move three or four seconds apart, regardless of whether that move would require actual thought. Some cheaters play their own moves until they get in trouble and then suddenly make all the correct moves to save their position.
On the other hand, some people are great at chess and make very few mistakes. But they tend to be consistent.
From what I've seen, it's not really the accuracy that gives it away; it's the timing of the moves and the inconsistency throughout the game. Cheaters are trying to fool the algorithm that would detect them, but in doing so they tend not to fool their opponents. After playing humans for a while, it's not that difficult to realize that suddenly you are playing against a computer or against someone who is using an engine to help them. I suspect that the better you are at chess, the more obvious it is when you are playing a cheater. You know what you would play, and so when you see a move that comes out of nowhere, you start wondering what is going on. Even watching grandmasters play, their moves tend to make sense. Computers sometimes make moves which make no sense at all until ten moves later it turns out that the move was a good one.
