US Chess Endorses LiChess Fair Play Methodology

In our ongoing initiatives to make online rated play more available and to provide more certainty about the integrity of online games, the US Chess Executive Board worked with the US Chess Ratings Committee to review the fair play methodology and implementation of lichess.org.

A subcommittee of multi-disciplinary experts carefully examined the approach to fair play monitoring used by lichess and concluded, “Their automated systems can detect and block blatant cheaters based on matching engine moves and trained Automated Intelligence (AI) bots. ...The parameters for their AI bots are conservative, helping avoid false positives.”

US Chess has invited other chess server vendors to follow a similar course, noting that there are experts who would be willing to sign Nondisclosure Agreements, as has been done during previous reviews, to examine the details of their fair play methodologies. It should be noted that currently, the reviews of other platforms are at varying stages and there could be vendors who decline, or have declined, to participate.

So, what does this mean in practical terms? The letter of endorsement from the US Chess Executive Board for lichess.org’s fair play methodology should give confidence to US Chess members that online-rated events will have a high degree of integrity of play on the lichess.org platform. The endorsement also paves the way for officially-rate games to take place on lichess.org.

The letter also emphasizes that the endorsement does not abrogate the rights of a US Chess member to due process if accused of cheating in a formal complaint to the US Chess Ethics Committee. Evidence of supposed cheating detected by the fair play method may or may not be adequate to support a charge that a player has violated the US Chess Code of Ethics. To read the full letter of endorsement from the Executive Board, please click here.