Post by torphichen on Feb 9, 2006 20:55:38 GMT -5
We are fortunate that there are very few accusations of computer cheating here but I do have an amusing tale to tell.
I recently looked at the games of a strong player on the site, one much stronger than me. In their only loss they accused their op of using software, so I played through the game and saw nothing particularly wrong with it. Indeed, I thought I had seen an improvement on this player's play.
There was only one thing for it, so I ran the moves through Fritz. Not only had they held the advantage through most of the game, their op had often chosen moves that were less than the best in Fritz's opinion. At the point where the accusations started, Fritz evaluated that the strong player was roughly a pawn up, unsurprising as this was also the material position.
Next move their op made a reasonable looking move which failed to a tactical shot, the improvement I thought I had seen, which Fritz found in an instant. Obviously this would never have happened had they been using software.
At this point the strong player blundered and gave up most of their advantage, probably because they were so upset at the 'cheating'. Even with this blunder, Fritz was of the opinion that they still held an edge. Next move they resigned, still moaning but still ahead.
One must question what has been achieved. Not only was this player wrong, they insulted another member who, by the looks of the game, was trying very hard indeed and they have shown themself to be an exceptionally bad sport. Not their best day at the office.
I recently looked at the games of a strong player on the site, one much stronger than me. In their only loss they accused their op of using software, so I played through the game and saw nothing particularly wrong with it. Indeed, I thought I had seen an improvement on this player's play.
There was only one thing for it, so I ran the moves through Fritz. Not only had they held the advantage through most of the game, their op had often chosen moves that were less than the best in Fritz's opinion. At the point where the accusations started, Fritz evaluated that the strong player was roughly a pawn up, unsurprising as this was also the material position.
Next move their op made a reasonable looking move which failed to a tactical shot, the improvement I thought I had seen, which Fritz found in an instant. Obviously this would never have happened had they been using software.
At this point the strong player blundered and gave up most of their advantage, probably because they were so upset at the 'cheating'. Even with this blunder, Fritz was of the opinion that they still held an edge. Next move they resigned, still moaning but still ahead.
One must question what has been achieved. Not only was this player wrong, they insulted another member who, by the looks of the game, was trying very hard indeed and they have shown themself to be an exceptionally bad sport. Not their best day at the office.