Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by bombcar 1368 days ago
The extent that anti-cheating measures in Contract Bridge have gone to is hilariously insane. The players are effectively in telephone booths and cannot say or do anything except mark a bid indicator or slide a card, and at regulated intervals, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheating_in_bridge

Bridge is an imperfect information game so the opportunities are much larger, but something similar can happen in chess.

2 comments

Then by all means, I'd encourage Carlsen to start the XFL of chess tournaments! The XCL?

Whatever the case is, I don't think a public crusade is the right option. If he had conclusive evidence of him cheating during the match, he wouldn't have made such a protracted statement on it weeks afterwards.

Yeah, some of it seems like regret that he didn't withdraw from the tournament before the match, and some of it doubling down.

Still could be correct, however. I suspect that Carlsen has certain knowledge of Hans cheating at games later than 16 but not the one he lost that hasn't been revealed yet.

Honestly, at the level these guys are at, compared to the engines, chess is an imperfect knowledge game also.

In Magnus' statement he specifically spoke of how he felt, Hans felt. This shows how much information beyond the 64 squares that chess players take in.

I'd argue the opportunities are larger in chess, because "what to do" is much more concretely correct.

Bridge has its own problems... and people will cheat as long as there are physical devices. (Fantunes / Fisher-Schwartz) Imagine if they used any simple encryption algorithm, they'd be fishy, but impossible to catch at that time.

BBO is the future for bridge IMHO.

Chess, will become an in person game with nobody else but the arbiter, players, and cameras in the room.