AICF bans 'bluetooth cap' chess cheater

In one of the harshest punishments to a chess player, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) has banned Umakant Sharma of Southern Railway for 10 years for cheating during a FIDE rating tournament at Delhi early this month.

The AICF at its Central Council meeting at Chennai on Tuesday decided to ban Umakant, the second seed at the Air Marshal Subroto tournament, for being caught with a blue tooth device hidden in his cap.

AICF Treasurer and Delhi Chess Association President Bharat Singh Chauhan, who exhibited the cap and device at the meeting, said the decision was taken after a long deliberation on the pros and cons of the nature of offence and the punishment, besides the complete record of the player, who climbed from ELO ratings 1989 to around 2480 in only the last six months.

"The matter was discussed at length at the meeting and it was decided that such acts were not welcome in chess," Chauhan said. "The Council also checked Umakant's complete record, including his games and even financial background and was surprised to learn that he had expensive mobile set despite being unemployed," he said.

"It is only recently that he got a job with the Southern Railways in Chennai," he said. "His games were also studied and he was not an extraordinary player who could have naturally gained heavily in ratings in such short duration," he said.