Chess players could be required to verify their identities through facial recognition under a proposed crackdown on cheating.
Timur Turlov, a candidate to become president of the International Chess Federation, outlined the plan during a debate ahead of FIDE’s September 26 election.
According to World Chess, Turlov wants the organization to invest in an AI-powered anti-cheating system capable of confirming who is behind an online account.
“It’s face recognition. It’s the simplest solution, and it’s banking-quality identification,” he explained.
Turlov argued that biometric checks could ensure professional players are who they claim to be. For lower-level competitive players, the technology could prevent one person from operating multiple accounts.
The Kazakhstan Chess Federation president also suggested FIDE could work alongside existing chess platforms and technology companies to create an advanced AI system for detecting suspicious play.
No system would stop every cheater, Turlov acknowledged, meaning its security would need to continually evolve. His proposal would also need to address questions surrounding privacy, personal data storage and how identification could be implemented across FIDE’s member federations.
FIDE debate thrown into chaos by vanishing candidate
The facial recognition plan was one of the few concrete policies to emerge from what World Chess CEO Ilya Merenzon described as a “horrible, horrible” presidential debate.
Candidate Wadim Rosenstein opened by promising to make himself personally available to every chess federation “24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
His internet then reportedly “died,” with Rosenstein disappearing from the debate immediately after his opening remarks. Chess.com made multiple attempts to reconnect him, but the discussion continued without him for another 85 minutes.
The chaotic debate comes as cheating remains one of chess’s biggest talking points.
World Chess CEO Ilya Merenzon previously told Dexerto that players sneaking smartphones into tournaments remain one of the most common methods. One amateur was even removed from an event after hiding a phone in his sock.
GothamChess also recently told Dexerto that online and in-person chess organizations need to cooperate more closely when dealing with suspected cheaters.
“I think our online and offline organizations in chess should work together better,” he said in an interview with Dexerto.
“If you get in trouble playing in massive online events, something should happen where you’re more monitored in real over-the-board events.”
However, GothamChess argued that players should not be sent to jail simply for cheating, particularly when young players can make bad decisions online.
“If you’re an adult and you’re just doing it in recreational games, then you get banned,” he said. “Once money gets involved in prize money, it’s a totally different story.”
Big stars in the chess world have been accused of cheating, including Hikaru Nakamura and Hans Niemann, the latter of whom had a whole Netflix documentary made following his controversial victory over Magnus Carlsen.
Other scandals have gone beyond engine assistance. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik was suspended for impersonating another player online, while Russian player Amina Abakarova was accused of poisoning an opponent’s chess pieces.
