sports
Nakamura criticises FIDE anti-cheating checks at Candidates tournament
U.S. grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura criticised extensive scanners and monitoring at the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, while FIDE said the measures are necessary to protect top-level competition.
Apr 3rd 2026 ยท United States
Insights
- U.S. grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura called the scanners and monitoring used at the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus "complete nonsense."
- FIDE defended the measures as vital to protect integrity and said most players support tight anti-cheating protocols.
- FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky said physical checks are unchanged since Toronto and that extra measures intercept signals without additional searches.
- Cheating concerns rose after the 2022 Carlsen-Niemann controversy, with Niemann admitting to online cheating as a teenager but denying over-the-board cheating and later losing a defamation suit.
- The Candidates decides the challenger to D Gukesh and Nakamura is sixth after four rounds, with the tournament running until April 15.
Sources
- No handshake row hits FIDE Candidates 2026 - Watch timesofindia.indiatimes.com
- Chess-Nakamura criticises FIDE's anti-cheating measures at Candidates tournament www.straitstimes.com
- Chess-Nakamura criticises FIDE's anti-cheating measures at Candidates tournament www.channelnewsasia.com