Chess - The Scotsman 27/08/2012

IT’S not just the Tour de France hit with cheating allegations. Nearly two years after an investigation began into cheating accusations involving three top French players, Fide, the game’s governing body, has ruled they are guilty and now officially banned from chess.

The cheating occurred during the Paris Open, the Bienne Open and the Chess Olympiad in 2010 and benefitted Sébastien Feller, 21, one of France’s top young players. Two other players were also punished: Arnaud Hauchard, a grandmaster and French national team captain, and Cyril Marzolo, an international master, for playing their part in a conspiracy to help him win, Fide announced in a ruling on 30 July.

Mazarolo, it said, watched Feller’s games, broadcast live online, and used a computer to crunch the best moves for him. He then transmitted them to Hauchard via text message, who used a code to relay them to Feller in the playing hall. Feller went on to win the Paris Open and an individual gold medal at the Olympiad.

Fide confirmed the ban, passed down by the French federation, on Hauchard participating in all chess events for three years, Feller for two years and nine months, and Marzolo, who confessed and cooperated fully with the investigation, for 18 months. Feller and Hauchard repeatedly denied the charges and are said to be looking at ways through the courts to reverse the rulings.

The ban was timed to prevent Feller playing in the French Championship, which goes into the final round with a four-way tie on 7/10 at the top between Romain Edouard, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Étienne Bacrot and Christian Bauer.

L Fressinet - V Tkachiev

87th French Ch., (3)

French Defence

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 exd5 exd5 5 Bd3 Nc6 6 a3 Be7 7 Be3 Bf6 8 Qh5 Bxd4 9 Bxd4 Nxd4 10 Qxd5 Qe7+ 11 Ne4 Ne6 12 0–0–0 Nf6 13 Bb5+ Kf8 14 Nxf6 Qxf6 15 Nf3 g6 16 h4 h6 17 Qe5 Kg7 18 Rhe1 Rf8 19 Re3 a5 20 Bc4 Re8 21 Qxf6+ Kxf6 22 Rde1 Re7 23 Ne5 a4 24 Ng4+ Kg7 25 Re5 c6 26 h5! b5 27 Ba2 Raa7 28 hxg6 Kxg6 29 f4 f6 30 Bxe6 fxe5 31 Nxe5+ Kf6 32 Bxc8 h5 33 Rd1 Rg7 34 Bh3 1–0