New pro sport scandal

[Iangould]

I know I'm supposed to say something here but it's 3.30AM here and this is pretty self-explanatory:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...9/s1752493.htm

Chess championship rocked by restroom row

Referees barred private toilets for the two grandmasters fighting for the world chess championship title in southern Russia over the frequency of one player's restroom breaks, ITAR-TASS news agency said.

Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov, who has yet to win a match after four attempts against Viktor Kramnik of Russia, threatened to quit the tournament entirely if organisers did not enact better controls on toilet breaks.

Mr Topalov's manager complained in a letter that Mr Kramnik had used his private restroom far too frequently during the first four games of the tournament, insinuating that the Russian champion was cheating in the toilet, the only area not under video surveillance during play.

[Jerry W. Loper]

I know I'm supposed to say something here but it's 3.30AM here and this is pretty self-explanatory:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...9/s1752493.htm

Chess championship rocked by restroom row

Referees barred private toilets for the two grandmasters fighting for the world chess championship title in southern Russia over the frequency of one player's restroom breaks, ITAR-TASS news agency said.

Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov, who has yet to win a match after four attempts against Viktor Kramnik of Russia, threatened to quit the tournament entirely if organisers did not enact better controls on toilet breaks.

Mr Topalov's manager complained in a letter that Mr Kramnik had used his private restroom far too frequently during the first four games of the tournament, insinuating that the Russian champion was cheating in the toilet, the only area not under video surveillance during play.

I'd be interested in knowing how a chess competitor could cheat while sitting on the can, since the chess board and pieces are in plain view for everybody to see. That is, unless what's being suggested is that he has a portable PC with a chess program that can figure out moves? (But I thought human chess champions were better than any computer chess programs except for supercomputers like Big Blue.)

[Naldo]

Perhaps the fear is that one of the champions has an extra queen stashed somewhere.

[DocAbsurd]

'Brown Queen to Black King . . . hey!'

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww




Doc 'Snuck in the Backdoor' Absurd

[hoffmandu]

I always knew he was cheatin' bastich!

[Aaron Kashtan]

Perhaps Topalov's team thinks Kramnik is using a computer while he's in the bathroom.

Which sounds like a ridiculous accusation, but disputes like this are not unheard of in world championship chess matches. When Fischer and Spassky were playing for the world title in 1972, Fischer had a whole list of ridiculous demands that he expected Spassky to comply with, and the demands kept changing after nearly every game. Psychological warfare is an important factor in chess at this level.

[Dreadstar]

Perhaps Topalov's team thinks Kramnik is using a computer while he's in the bathroom.

More likely the idea is that he's accessing an MCO or ECO. (Encyclopedic books of chess openings and moves)

[Iangould]

More likely the idea is that he's accessing an MCO or ECO. (Encyclopedic books of chess openings and moves)

Or he has a mobile phone and he has an accomplice doing the checking for him.