Shared Accounts in Antichess

Hello guys,

in my opinion the variant Antichess has a big issue with shared accounts.
Right now there are five (!) "shared accounts" in top 10:

@Squad_Of_Death
@Gregory_House_DM
@realopening10
@RAGAMUFfins_eskoRT
@JuniorCigano

That means sometimes the best 10 players on the leaderboard are only 5 different persons.
For other player its hard to get to top 10 on the leaderboard because 5 places are always kinda blocked.
I also noticed that some players go for a high rating like 2400 and then log off to play on an other account to avoid losing rating points. There are always guys just sitting on their rating.
Another problem is that there are 2100 players and 2400 players using one account together. That means sometimes you play against an account with an antichess rating of 2100 and the player playing is a 2400 guy. For me this is sandbagging and annoying af because it makes the antichess ratings silly.

Not playing against these accounts is pretty much impossible because there is always atleast one in every tournament.
In advance: I'm NOT a frustrated player who never got to top 10 :)

Maybe shared accounts should only be allowed for study purposes?
lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/monthly-classical-winners?page=1

I have to agree. I'm friends with most of the top antichess players, but there are way too many shared accounts and I don't really understand how they are permitted (nor the appeal for that matter). It's unfair because you never know who is playing against, and everyone's style and ability is different. For example I could be playing a 2500 level player on a 2200 account, which is basically sandbagging.

Isn't this against site policy in the first place? lichess.org/qa/986/am-i-allowed-to-share-my-account-with-someone-else

@Playitsmart
I thought that 'alternate' and shared accounts were frowned upon but not against the ToS. BUT I thought that no matter the ranks only one will show up in the Top list.

So; if you have 5 alts and all 5 are in the top 10; only one should show. At least; I thought this is how it was supposed to be.

How do you know that these accounts you mention are 'shared accounts' ? I dont doubt you; just curious.
Why would players share a account anyway?

I mean; if someone comes to my house and is on my account thats one thing; but giving out your login info so someone else can play on your account....for what purpose? :l=

I think that QA#986 is out of date as compared to the Terms of Service page.

@breakreign easy, just take a look in their profil description.

And I don't know either why you would share an account. Probably they wanna have a fun account to play as a 2500 on a 2200 account...

Yes, even on their profile descriptions it admits they are shared accounts, and these are just a few examples that appear in the top 10.

@Toadofsky, not sure if that is out of date or not, but it is also mentioned/linked in the cheating guide (see #13: lichess.org/qa/258/all-about-cheating-questions-and-answers)

wow just saw this thanks to MagnusXL, even rules say its forbidden:

"Question: Is sharing accounts allowed?
Answer: No.

Reasons:

1) Different playing strengths can mislead opponents. If your account is at 1200 and the person who uses your account plays at a 1800 level, it's unfair to the opponents. This constitutes as cheating in a rated game.

There have been instances where users were marked as an engine because all of a sudden, they were able to play extremely well. They appealed and said "He's a IM/(etc) and was playing normally".

2) Conversely, if you're at a 2000 level and someone plays at a 1000 level, it looks like you're sandbagging.

3) Your friend can use your account maliciously by consciously cheating or being a troll (boosting, using an engine, spamming the forums, etc).

3) Points one and two can be summed up as: moderators can penalize people's accounts. Obviously we cannot penalize people in real life. So, if suspicious activity, or unfair play, is suspected (like in points 1 and 2), your account will be personalized; arguing that it was a friend of yours that cheated/played/trolled will not help you (see point four).

4) When you register, you enter YOUR email. It's YOUR account. Similar to renting a car in your name, if you let your friend drive it and he scratches it, you'll probably get in more trouble than your friend."

lichess.org/qa/986/am-i-allowed-to-share-my-account-with-someone-else

I do not play variants, so can only go by a few observations. The top rated "players" as pointed out by the OP indeed share accounts. They post as such in their profile. A few of the names actually appear on more than one account.

My perception is that it appears different standards apply for variants. It appears (may well be wrong), but this is how it seems.

Sharing accounts, rating manipulation, sandbagging, artificially increasing ratings by playing only a certain group of players don't seem to be enforced as tightly as Standard Chess. Even engine use, it seems a blind eye is turned. Maybe it is impractical, or deemed impossible to detect programs in variants. However, SF gives an analysis and I observe 0/0/0 *0-10 Acpl frequently, with no players ever being flagged.

Maybe a mod would like to clarify. It is a perception that a few have observed, especially the "shared accounts". Do policies differ for variants?

Good gravy, I didn't realize just how out-of-date the Q&A is... compare that to lichess.org/terms-of-service :

"User conduct is contextual, and different penalties may apply at the administrators' discretion. What determines good conduct may change at Lichess' discretion.

Exceptionally, users can play as a team. This must be done on a specially made team account, which explicitly states the team nature of the account (for example, in the bio page). This is primarily intended for entertainment or educational purposes, and administrators retain final say as to whether an account is a legitimate team account or not. Some examples of team accounts could be: entertainment use in streamed bullet tournaments where effective consultation is impossible; custom tournaments created by the team account; in private challenges and lobby games where the opponent explicitly consents.

The administrators' discretion is final."