Dubai Open Chess Tournament has banned a Georgian Chess champion after being found cheating by using a iPhone which was hidden in the toilet
Gaioz Nigalidze, aged 25, a Georgian National Chess Champion, has been banned from the Dubai Open Chess Tournament as he was found to be cheating during the International Chess Tournament that was held at the Dubai. Nigalidze’s opponent, an Armenian champion Tigran Petrossian actually brought this to the notice of the competition officials that Nigalidze was continuously taking rounds to the toilet and that he was visiting the same stall every time.
A representative of the Dubai Chess and Culture Club said: “The Armenian noticed the Georgian was oddly frequenting the toilet after each move during a crucial part of the game.” Immediately the officials checked Nigalidze however they did not find any gadgets on him. Next, the officials investigated the toilet that he was visiting and here they found an Apple iPhone that was wrapped in a toilet paper and hidden behind the toilet.
Nigalidze initially denied to own the Apple iPhone however soon officials found that the phone was logged into a social networking site under “his login id” and also there was a chess application open that was analyzing his game with Petrossian.
This breach has been reported to the International Chess Federation. As per Mahdi Abdul Rahim, the chief arbiter of Dubai’s tournament, the players who are found guilty of cheating will face a suspension for three years from all the tournaments that was sanctioned earlier. Further, this may be extended to 15 years if the players are found to repeat the cheating.
Nigalidze, who has been the Georgian National Chess Champion for 2013 and 2014, may have to face a tough time for next several years as his past achievements are now under scrutiny and now it is a big question whether he actually deserves the championship or he had used some cheating methods during those tournaments as well!
For now, Nigalidze has been expelled from the tournament, which is still going on in Dubai and which is being played between 70 grandmasters from 43 different countries who are competing for a first prize worth $12000. Some of the fellow grandmasters have asked the World Chess Federation, to take strict action against Nigalidze by taking away his titles and also to ban him for next 15 years. Some of the top players have actually told the reporters of the newspaper, to punish the cheaters thoroughly so that it would deter other players from cheating in future.
Nigalidze’s is not the first one to cheat in an international tournament and there have been many others who have been cheating during the tournament and hence its high time that these cheaters should be penalized heavily.
That’s an iPod, not an iPhone. Check your facts!