Is Cheating In Chess Often Overstated? American GM Fabiano Caruana Echoes Gukesh's Thoughts On Cheating

Last Updated:February 28, 2026, 15:53 IST

Caruana compared online chess with over-the-board events and stated that cheating is talked about more in online games because it is easier to do there.

US grandmaster Fabiano Caruana has shared his thoughts on cheating in chess, a day after world champion D Gukesh said the issue is often made to look bigger than it really is. Caruana said he has never personally seen cheating happen in the tournaments he has played.

Speaking on his C Squared Podcast, Caruana compared online chess with over-the-board events and stated that cheating is talked about more in online games because it is easier to do there.

Caruana explained, “Over-the-board cheating-it’s not really talked about too often, right? Because usually the focus is on the potential for online cheating, which must be a bigger problem, in terms of volume, because it’s just easier."

“So, I don’t know what the level of cheating is over the board versus online, but whatever it is, there must be more online because it’s easier. Just logically, there has to be more."

He said that while online cheating may happen more often, it is usually handled quietly. According to him, players who are caught cheating online are often banned without their names being made public.

Caruana pointed out that over-the-board events have more money and higher stakes, especially when it comes to official FIDE ratings. When someone is caught cheating in such tournaments, the action taken is more public.

“When there’s a big over-the-board cheating scandal, players get banned. They get kicked out of chess. We rarely see a GM get caught cheating over the board—maybe once every few years—and then that person is basically banned from chess, sometimes coming back or sometimes not at all," he said.

He then added, “Meanwhile, online cheating is just swept under the rug. I mean, they find the person, they quietly make sure that nobody finds out who they are. For years, that’s been the case. I don’t think it’s a good system, but maybe that’s how they’ve tried to avoid potential legal action. That’s also speculation on my part. I don’t know why they would do it; they would probably say they did it because they don’t want to damage careers, but obviously, if someone’s cheating, you kind of damage your own career that way."

Caruana mentioned well-known cases such as Sébastien Feller and Kirill Shevchenko, who were caught cheating in over-the-board events. However, he said he has never witnessed such an incident in tournaments he has played.

“Does it happen over the board? I mean, probably in some measure, but I don’t know because I’ve personally never seen it happen in my own tournaments. I’ve heard of these stories—Feller and Shevchenko and so on—and also non-GMs, right? We’ve all heard these stories, but I’ve never seen it in a tournament that I’ve played in firsthand. I’ve never felt that a player was cheating against me over the board," he also stated.

World Champion D Gukesh has recently said concerns about cheating in chess are often exaggerated, distancing himself from former champion Vladimir Kramnik’s repeated allegations against players over online games.

Speaking before the Prague International festival during a press conference, Gukesh stressed he opposes any unfair play but believes the issue is being overstated. He joins Magnus Carlsen, FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin in criticising unproven claims.

Looking ahead, Gukesh said he does not believe in favourites for the Candidates and would enjoy facing R Praggnanandhaa. He opens his campaign against American grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann.

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