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Grandmaster disqualified for phone-y toilet breaks

The Straits Times

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October 18, 2024

A top chess player was expelled from an event in Spain this week after being accused of cheating by using a phone during toilet breaks between moves.

The player, Kirill Shevchenko, had been going to the bathroom for extended periods during games, and officials searching the stall he had used found a phone, which could have been used to get help from a computer program.

Shevchenko, 22, a Ukrainian grandmaster who represents Romania in competitions, was kicked out of the event, a team chess championship in Spain, on Oct 14 after the phone was discovered.

The device found in the bathroom had a handwritten note saying: "Don't touch! This telephone has been left so the owner can answer it at night!" according to the tournament's chief arbiter, Oscar Bruno de Prado Rodriguez, as reported on Chess.com.

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