skip to Main Content

Cheating Scandals Invade the Worlds of Chess, Poker and Fishing

cheatWe all love to watch sports and games. Whether we’re watching our favourite football or tuning in to see who wins The Ashes. But can we always say that we are viewing fair play? Throughout the years, cheating scandals have always been around and it seems as though even with all the modern technology we have now that these issues haven’t gone away.

Recent scandals in the worlds of chess, poker and fishing have come to light. Accusations by world chess champion Magnus Carlsen came about first. Following that came finger pointing after a poker game. Plus, two fishermen were also accused of stuffing their catches with lead weights. All this activity to try and win a game or event via the use of underhanded tactics.

It’s not the first time that accusations of cheating have taken place in the sporting world. The likelihood is that these instances won’t be the last times, either.

Magnus Carlsen Accuses Chess Opponent of Cheating

chess cheatingIn September, a story broke about current world chess champion, Magnus Carlsen. The Norwegian grandmaster accused fellow chess player Hans Niemann of cheating. In his statement, Carlsen said that most of his cheating had taken place recently. Although he offered no such evidence to support that claim.

A follow-up report suggests that Niemann has cheated in more than 100 games, though. The American chess player has admitted to cheating twice before. But those instances were at the ages of 12 and 16. Yet an investigation by chess.com has found more occasions when it has happened.

Niemann has stated that he has never cheated in competitive chess. He claims that Carlsen is instead trying to ruin his career in the game. As a way of trying to prove he has good faith, Niemann spoke of his willingness to play in the nude.

Whether there is any truth to the cheating accusations remains to come to light. Carlsen only rose the issue when Niemann defeated him at the Sinquefield Cup. This ended his 53-game unbeaten run in the game.

He then went on to quit the tournament, even with six rounds left to play. Many people deem Carlsen to be the best chess player of all time. There have been those who have questioned whether he is telling the truth or not, though.

Carlsen and Niemann met again in an online tournament only recently. But things didn’t last long, because Carlsen quit once again; this time after making just one move. This was his way of protesting Niemann’s participation in the competition. The world chess champion did go on to win that tournament. Then he said he would be commenting more on the scandal which had led to him quitting. His exact words were that he wanted

“cheating in chess to be dealt with seriously”.

Carlsen posted a message on Twitter which reinforced his belief in cheating being a big deal. He voiced his desire for an increase in security measures and methods for cheat detection.

“I believe that Niemann has cheated more – and more recently – than he has publicly admitted”,

said his statement.

Carlsen said that his suspicions about Niemann have increased in a significant way. He said that the American player has made “unusual” progress as of late. While stating that there was more he wanted to say, he was unable to. This, he said, was not possible “without explicit permission” from Niemann himself.

Not Long After, More Cheating Scandals Erupt

ace up the sleeveAnd cheating isn’t something that is only affecting the chess world. A row erupted a few days ago over a high-stakes poker game. Taking place at the Hustler Casino in Los Angeles, it all surrounded player Robbi Jade Lew.

She stunned the poker table by being successful at calling a semi-bluff. It was her opponent Garrett Adelstein who enacted such, going for an all-in bet. Lew called it, risking her chips with a bad hand. Convinced that Adelstein was bluffing, she scooped the $269,000 (£241,000) pot in the end.

Adelstein gave Lew quite the icy stare after she won the game. Pundits also commented during the live stream of the game about the gambit, too. An exchange of words occurred off and on camera, with both players giving their accounts of what was said.

Lew gave Adelstein his chips back, stating that he had threatened her. This is something that her opponent denies happened. Lew then went on to challenge Adelstein to a head-to-head match. That would occur after she vindicates herself.

Yet Adelstein said that Lew had definitely cheated. After reviewing previous footage of his opponent, he confirmed those suspicions. He spoke of Lew wearing a vibrating device, which would send information to her. Of course, this is not something that he is able to prove. Match organisers are investigating the scandal.

And then came the fishing cheating issue. On Friday, September 30, a pair of competitive fisherman were under investigation. Accusations arose about the pair stuffing their catches with lead weights. This practice would make them weigh in heavier, helping the pair to win the £30,000 prize.

Organisers called the results of the Lake Erie Walleye’s Trail event into question. After Chase Cominsky and Jake Runyon scored the first-place finish, a viral video came to light. This displayed an official slicing open a fish at weigh-in. Inside that fish was both lead balls and fillets of other fish.

The crowd in attendance start hurling expletive-laden insults at Runyon. Yet he remains silent with the discovery of the cheating scandal. This has also called into question the legitimacy of the pair’s previous victories. Neither Runyon nor Cominsky have commented on these cheating allegations.

Not the First Episode of Cheating in Sports

drugs cheating sport

The sporting world has never been 100% squeaky clean throughout history. Cheating scandals have rocked various scenes, including baseball, basketball and the Olympics.

One of the biggest scandals came about in 1980 during the Boston Marathon. Rosie Ruiz finished the Marathon in less than three hours. She even set a new record. Yet questions arose when it turned out that nobody had seen her running during the event. It turned out that Ruiz had taken the subway for part of the race. She also hadn’t run the full Marathon, either.

Instead, she waited about one mile from the finish line and then jumped into the race. She sprinted to the finish, and that was her victory. Once her cheating came to light, she had her title removed by Marathon officials. Ruiz maintains that she finished the race fair and square, though.

And nobody can forget about the doping scandal surrounding Lance Armstrong. The cyclist spent several years denying that he had used performance-enhancing drugs. He claimed that he had won his seven Tour de France titles by talent alone.

Yet in 2013, he confessed to Oprah Winfrey that he had indeed doped himself up. Only a few days before that admission, various board foundations dropped him. He was also stripped of his Tour de France titles by the US Anti-Doping Agency.

Sometimes things go too far as well. Marion Jones won five medals at the Olympics in 2000. Yet she later ended up pleading guilty about lying to federal agents. What had she lied about? Performance-enhancing drugs, of course. It was in 2007, following years of denials, that Jones admitted using steroids.

She returned the five medals from the 2000 Olympics. One year later, she received a sentence of six months in prison for lying to federal prosecutors. Two years of probation and community service was also part of her sentence.

Back To Top