Go offline with the Player FM app!
In Focus-Weekend | Something Strange on the Chessboard? Call the Chess Detective.
Manage episode 518552218 series 2606066
In India’s coastal state of Goa, the world’s best chess players are chasing titles at the FIDE World Cup, a biennial tournament run by FIDE, the International Chess Federation. On the East Coast of the United States, Kenneth Regan chases fairness. Each night he downloads every game, feeding the moves into his program to see if the play looks human or too perfect. Cheating today isn’t just glances or notes. It can mean phones, signals, or online help from chess engines. Regan’s math hunts for patterns that feel off, walking the thin line between genius and help.
From the 2006 “Toiletgate” scandal—when a world champion was accused of using computer aid during long bathroom breaks—to the 2022 storm between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann, when Carlsen withdrew mid-tournament, suspicion has shadowed the board. Regan’s work keeps the focus on the moves, not the murmurs.
Guest: Kenneth Regan, Professor of Computer Science, University at Buffalo; Anti-Cheating Expert for FIDE, the World Chess Federation
Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Edited by Jude Weston
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1128 episodes
Manage episode 518552218 series 2606066
In India’s coastal state of Goa, the world’s best chess players are chasing titles at the FIDE World Cup, a biennial tournament run by FIDE, the International Chess Federation. On the East Coast of the United States, Kenneth Regan chases fairness. Each night he downloads every game, feeding the moves into his program to see if the play looks human or too perfect. Cheating today isn’t just glances or notes. It can mean phones, signals, or online help from chess engines. Regan’s math hunts for patterns that feel off, walking the thin line between genius and help.
From the 2006 “Toiletgate” scandal—when a world champion was accused of using computer aid during long bathroom breaks—to the 2022 storm between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann, when Carlsen withdrew mid-tournament, suspicion has shadowed the board. Regan’s work keeps the focus on the moves, not the murmurs.
Guest: Kenneth Regan, Professor of Computer Science, University at Buffalo; Anti-Cheating Expert for FIDE, the World Chess Federation
Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Edited by Jude Weston
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1128 episodes
All episodes
×Welcome to Player FM!
Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.