Alleged 'Cheater' Kicked Out from Bulgarian Chess Federation

[Laskos]

That's why I wrote the standards are different for professionals and amateurs. He is an amateur who didn't play seriously for some time and out of nowhere started performing like 2600.

Are there precedents banning players based on their results?

[Lyudmil Tsvetkov]

That's why I wrote the standards are different for professionals and amateurs. He is an amateur who didn't play seriously for some time and out of nowhere started performing like 2600.

If he beats professionals, he is a professional, and the players who get beaten are amateurs.

The Bulgarian Cheating Federation banned him for damaging the image of the BCF throughout the world. They googled some sites (and probably even visited ccc for expert opinion) and came to the conclusion that most of the publications were derisory or negative of him. That was all the evidence they had to ban him.

Now, what is this? This happens only in authoritarian regimes (unfortunately, authoritarianism seems to spread around the world). They did not even substantiate why they would consider his appearances and the internet coverage would have been damaging. If they ask me, it is about 50/50 split, it is both damaging, but also sensational, if the accusations are not true, so they had no reason at all to impose that ban. They just cheated people around. Now Danailov is happy and Ivanov sorrowful, but it should have been the other way round, definitely.

Not a single evidence of cheating, just suspicions, not a single, probably some hearsay. If they had the slightest evidence, they would have used it to justify the ban. But they did not do so, and this is a clear indication they are wrong, but not only this, their behaviour is criminal.

Now, there have been cases when they caught players with mobiles and engines on them in the toilet, for example Falko Bindrich of Germany and some French GMs, so there the accusations were substantiated. They conducted many checks on Borislav and they found nothing. Therefore, their accusations are fake. (and would like to say here period and repeat it several times)

This was his living, certainly, they had no right to do this at all. As said, all was based on the fake analysis of Mr. Lilov for chessbase, that is simply hilarious. I repeat it for the nth time, but obviously some people do not understand: Lilov analysis is fake and insulting, because there is no chance in the world that the computer the analysis was conducted on is the same as the computer Ivanov allegedly used. On different hardware, engines simply choose different moves, period. That is why Lilov analysis is fake.

[IGarcia]

That's why I wrote the standards are different for professionals and amateurs. He is an amateur who didn't play seriously for some time and out of nowhere started performing like 2600.

Well, some can think Carlsen current performance (record ELO, WCC and other results) is because he is cheating. And maybe his is hiding some sort of device somewhere inside his body... Imagine Carlsen face when he see arbiter coming with doctor team with X-ray, brain scanners and etc...

Ivanov can be a POS cheater, a bad person, immoral, etc, but you have to proof before given a veredict. So hard to understand?

[Milos]

Here is what we have so far:
We have several high level murder experts saying there has definitely without a doubt been a murder by a certain known individual.

1. We have no murder blood.
2. We have no murder weapon.
3. We have no murder scene.
4. We have no one that has actually witnessed the murder.
5. We have a suspected murderer that refuses an inspection.
6. We have a suspect that someone thought they saw the pattern of a weapon under his shirt.

Next step: Guillotine in the public square.
kgburcham

I driver stopped by police for suspected drunk driving refused to take any test. He was stinking on alcohol like hell and couldn't stand on his feet.
However, we must not judge the guy because he might be feeling sick and alcohol smell is from his medicine and since he didn't take the test there is no way to prove he's been consuming alcohol.
Right...

Next time police stop you for alco-test try refusing it, and see what happens...

[Milos]

Really interesting how cheaters from this forum support their fellow cheater in real life...

[gerold]

Really interesting how cheaters from this forum support their fellow cheater in real life...

Your not a cheater unless you get caught with a computer up your shoe.

[Norm Pollock]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumstantial_evidence

[Uri Blass]

If I ever played in a tournament again I would never agree to taking off my shoes or to some similar humiliating demands.
And it is certain that you can always find some engine whose moves would match many of my moves, regardless of my level.

The ban is probably based on some clear proof we are not aware of. Or it is unfounded.

I think that every chess player should agree not only to take off his shoes but also to take off all his clothes when the only condition can be that it is done privately when only the arbiter see it.

A female player should have the right to do it when only a female see it and if people do not agree in advance to do it in case of suspect then it is better if they do not play in chess tournaments.

[Lyudmil Tsvetkov]

Here is what we have so far:
We have several high level murder experts saying there has definitely without a doubt been a murder by a certain known individual.

1. We have no murder blood.
2. We have no murder weapon.
3. We have no murder scene.
4. We have no one that has actually witnessed the murder.
5. We have a suspected murderer that refuses an inspection.
6. We have a suspect that someone thought they saw the pattern of a weapon under his shirt.

Next step: Guillotine in the public square.
kgburcham

I driver stopped by police for suspected drunk driving refused to take any test. He was stinking on alcohol like hell and couldn't stand on his feet.
However, we must not judge the guy because he might be feeling sick and alcohol smell is from his medicine and since he didn't take the test there is no way to prove he's been consuming alcohol.
Right...

Next time police stop you for alco-test try refusing it, and see what happens...

There is no reason whatever that he should be treated differently than other people. Did other players strip naked? Why should Ivanov now? However, I am sure next time (if by any chance the decision is successfully appealed in court, which is still doubtful, or he changes federation) he will strip naked, and then proceed to beat the GMs. It just takes some time.

He was not ready to take off his shoes, now he is ready, but still not ready to strip naked; well, if there is next time, he will do that also, but you have to get accustomed to unjustified humiliations. I, for example, would gladly have stripped naked Guliev or Dlugy. In Blagoevgrad, where all passed the metal detector, Dlugy was advised to act like that. He did it on purpose. Is that not cheating?

[Lyudmil Tsvetkov]

Really interesting how cheaters from this forum support their fellow cheater in real life...

The real interesting thing are unfounded accusations.

Uri mentioned something about inconsistent statistical performance in different elo categories, however I see something else. Tkae a very close look at the elo growth graph of Ivanov on the FIDE ratings site. He spanned 400 elos (from 1700 to 2100) in just a year or 2' time. That is a very fast progress, speaking of innate talent. You progress that fast if you are talented. Now, the question is what engine did he use then to achieve such a rapid progress? Did he cheat then as well? Did he need an engine help at all to beat players in the range 1800-1900? Once I used to play against a 1900 elo engine, called Grizzly, so it is quite probable that he used this particular engine to cheat then. Or maybe an untuned Houdini or Stockfish at strength 3.

Then his progress is halted again for a year or 2, and in the end of 2012 he suddenly starts progressing very fast again. How is this possible? The explanation is very simple: he is a young student, probably not wealthy, so he trained without the help of computer. Then he bought a computer, installed good software, and suddenly the very efficient computer support helped him to start quickly progressing again, as he was talented. Anything more natural than that?

The scandal did not erupt when prize money was not at stake, it erupted when it was really at stake for the masters. If Ivanov wins prize money, someone else does not, and everyone is a potential loser. So the scandal erupted.

For Uri, I also checked carefully the games he played in the 1900-2100 elo range, where most of the women play. Do you know what his score against women is? Well, if he played 12 games against women, he won only 2, drew 5 and lost 5. That is unnatural, is not it? Yes, and it points that there is probably a women connection involved in his results of a pure psychological character. Probably he would win just again women he really dislikes, but draw and lose all other games. Why? Well, probably just chivalry, or maybe some other factor involved, I would not like to speculate, but in this way you explain quite easily why he underperforms in the 1900-2100 elo range.

So that, there is no statistical doubt about his performance, no device found, just some hearsay, obviously intentional and wrong. Why is he guilty then? Just because of his good results. But you see, it is quite possible to perform like that.

I would like that this story ends soon, and if no cheating evidence substantiated, he receives apologies and some damages. But the BCF knew quite well he was not cheating, they knew the truth would soon appear when next time he stripped naked, so they pushed along the scandalous ban in a matter of days.