6/3/2013 – Borislav Ivanov is an FM who in the past months has been crushing players hundreds of points stronger than himself. Bulgarian GMs, who suspect computer cheating, are now boycotting tournaments in which he appears, or chosing not to play their games against him. Ivanov has called them antisocial buttheads in newspaper interviews. Alex Karaivanov reports, with new video analysis by Valeri Lilov.
new: ChessBase 16 - Mega package Edition 2021
Your key to fresh ideas, precise analyses and targeted training!
Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
Your key to fresh ideas, precise analyses and targeted training! Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
In this DVD the author answers how to realize an advantage, considering both the psychological aspects of the realisation of an advantage and the technical methods.
€29.90
The show goes on: Ivanov in Kustendil
By Alex Karaivanov
The case of FM Borislav Ivanov, who mysteriously beat a number of highly
ranked chess players at several European international tournaments, remains
unsolved. Was he cheating or is he a pure genius whom no one wants to accept?
Ivanov’s play has repeatedly demonstrated an unprecedentedly high
move correlation with that of the strongest chess engine, Houdini. His sharp
computer style is easy to recognize for all experienced masters and professional
players, who recently signed petitions to FIDE demanding an anti-cheating
commission to be formed by FIDE and ACP to deal with the growing problem
of computer cheating in chess tournaments.
Meanwhile, Borislav Ivanov continued to beat everyone who dared to sit
at the same table with him. He convincingly won the top prizes at tournaments
in Sofia (Bulgaria), Zadar (Croatia), and Villava (Spain) earlier this year.
His immaculate play continued to dominate local and international competitions,
against a backdrop of speculations and suspicions which have received extensive
coverage by the mainstream media both in Bulgaria and abroad.
Now, once again, the newly fledged FIDE master crushed the opposition at
the 2nd “Bogomil Andonov” Memorial with a convincing result of 7.5 out of
9.0, and took the first prize at this rapid chess tournament held in Kustendil,
Bulgaria. Once again he proved his new brand of computer style play against
a plethora of famous Bulgarian GMs and IMs, one of whom, GM Kiril Georgiev
(2657), had just become the new Bulgarian Chess Champion for 2013.
“Bogomil Andonov” Memorial – final rankings after 9 rounds
A couple of weeks later, Ivanov scored another phenomenal performance at
the 1st Cup “Old Capital”
International Open, where he was controversially thrown out of the final
standings and denied the first prize, despite his clear win with 8.0 out
of 9.0 in a crushing style of play. A small last-minute change in tournament
regulations allowed organizers to disqualify any player with more than two
wins achieved by forfeit. Not surprisingly, Ivanov did not qualify for a
prize after three opponents failed to appear at the board. The final no-show
in the last round was IM Sasho Nikolov, who refused to play Ivanov for the
second time in this event (see Valeri Lilov's video below for a full explanation),
giving up his immaculate tournament performance in order to help disqualify
the alleged cheater. Here is a list of all
participants and here the final
standings (without Ivanov).
Borislav Ivanov was quick to reach for the mainstream media, as he usually
does, by giving two interviews on the case with his denied award which were
broadcast on the national TV channels, BTV and TV7.
The “James Bond of chess” is how
the Bulgarian TV7 channel described Borislav
Ivanov, who gave interviews and spoke about his opponents’ bias against
him
Yet, it was his unseen penchant for bold words and love for short-lived
fame that led to Ivanov’s official ban from tournament participation on
the territory of Bulgaria for the next four months. The Bulgarian Chess
Federation has taken clear stand on Ivanov’s appalling comments on chess
players in general and penalized him for slander of Bulgarian chess thanks
to his numerous explicit comments given during various interviews published
in the local and international press.
One stark example of Ivanov’s chaotic rant against chess players as a whole
appeared in a PressaDaily.bg news article titled: “Life between chess
and chalga:
the miracle from Blagoevgrad believes that other chess players are buttheads.”
Borislav Ivanov in Pressadaily.bg, a Bulgarian
newspaper.
The title in Bulgarian reads “Life between chess and chalga”
Excerpts:
Chess is my passion. Every day I practice three to four hours at the
board. I have no girlfriend. The problem is that no one expects me to
win. I play brilliantly because I have good training, that is the answer.
The grandmasters refuse to accept that I am good and therefore started
bringing up suspicions. They had me checked as if I was the biggest terrorist.
They stripped off my jacket and shirt. I don't know if they expected to
find a bomb strapped to me. I just went to the tournament and won.
Most chess players are absolute buttheads. For too many people, chess
is an antisocial game. Therefore, chess players are usually old bachelors,
lonely and unhappy people. But there are many cool players, too. I am
constantly trying to escape from this stereotype. To be honest, sometimes
I feel ashamed to say that I am a chess player.
In addition to blocking Ivanov’s participation in a number of major international
open tournaments to be held near Varna, Bulgaria this summer, the Bulgarian
Chess Federation included a second clause directed at the suspected cheater,
which reads in part: “Due to experts’ common standpoint derived from their
analyses of Borislav Ivanov’s games from chess tournaments in the past 9
(nine) months and in connection with the suspicions and accusations of cheating
on numerous international tournaments, […] we recommend to Borislav Ivanov
to provide his permission for conducting extensive tests on him through
various technical equipment, which will be both in his favor for the purposes
of clearing his name and in favor of the Bulgarian Chess Federation, which
will do everything possible in the future to resolve the problem on a national
and international level in case it is proven with scientific means that
Ivanov does not use any unfair means during his games.
Analysis of Ivanov's games by Valeri Lilov
Maximize the video player (square icon on the bottom right) to follow
Lilov's analysis properly.
Two important points that Valeri makes are: people are constantly demanding
that accusers should provide concrete proof of cheating, e.g. show that
the player has a concealed electronic device on his body. But strip searches
that could discover tiny receivers would require a warrant by a judge and
need to be pre-announce, which clearly defeats the purpose. And secondly:
a lot can be deduced by looking at the moves of the games. Here's a good
example:
Black (Ivanov) to move
It is clear that Black is winning, especially since he has 1...Rc1, stopping
the white pawn on c6, followed by ...Bd5 to attack it again. What no human
player in extreme time trouble would play is the computer move 1...Bc4!?!?
You try to work out, in a few seconds, if this move is sound or not. Lilov
explains its intricacies in the video.
FM Valeri Lilov’s extensive analysis of Ivanov’s games have played central
role in the international investigation of Ivanov’s alleged cheating scheme.
Many sources have refered back to Lilov’s YouTube video annotation of the
alleged cheater’s latest games in Kustendil and Veliko Tarnovo.
– To be continued –
About the author
Alex Karaivanov is the manager of FM Valeri Lilov and has managed
his coaching career for the past six years. He is the CEO and co-founder
of Tiger Lilov’s Chess School and the president of Shanghai
Chess Club: Pudong Branch. He is also involved in producing Valeri
Lilov's ChessBase DVDs.
Recent ChessBase articles on the Ivanov case
04.1.2013 - Cheating
suspicion at the Zadar Open in Croatia
In this event, with 16 GMs and a host of other strong players, one participant
stood out especially: the 25-year-old untitled Bulgarian Borislav Ivanov
scored 6.0/9 points, with a rating performance of 2697. In the January FIDE
list Ivanov has gained 115 points over his previous 2277 rating, gained
in over 400 games over three years. A certain suspicion once again raises
its ugly head.
08.1.2013 - Cheating
scandal in Croatia – feedback and analysis
Recently we reported that the incredibly brilliant play by a 25-year-old untitled
Bulgarian player at the Zadar Open in Croatia had raised suspicion that he might
have been using illicit electronic assistance during his games. A number of
readers criticised us – for linking to the mainstream Croatian media reports?!
One of them, an expert in the field, actually analysed all the games in question.
17.1.2013 - Cheating
scandal – Borislav Ivanov speaks out
Recently a 25-year-old untitled Bulgarian player scored 6.0/9 points in a strong
GM tournament, with a 2697 performance. His opponents complained, he was searched,
and no electronic equipment was found. Still, the case put chess on the front
pages of the mainstream media, and led to intense discussions on the Internet.
Now Ivanov has given the Russian news portal WhyChess an exclusive interview.
23.3.2013 - A
Game of Chicken: Ivanov rides again
In the last weeks of 2012 he wowed the chess world with a 2700 performance.
Two months later the new Bulgarian star FM Borislav Ivanov finished 88th in
the Plovdiv, this time with a performance of 1970. Then came another enviable
achievement, a clear win at the Villava rapid (again with a 2700 performance).
What is going on? Alex Karaivanov speculates, with new video analysis by Valeri
Lilov.
Naturally, a universal approach using ...Nf6, ...g7-g6 and ...d7-d5 as the base would be very useful for players of all classes, saving time and energy and promising a fluid, dynamic position.
Anniversary issue with several extras! "My favourite young Carlsen game": 22 authors annotate. Pearls from Wijk: Jorden van Foreest and Anish Giri comment on their best games. Plus 11 opening articles, 3 opening videos, "Carlen's strategy" and much more!
Fat Fritz 2.0 is the successor to the revolutionary Fat Fritz, which was based on the famous AlphaZero algorithms. This new version takes chess analysis to the next level and is a must for players of all skill levels.
Videos by Jan Werle ("Latest trends in King's Indian Saemisch Variation") and Mihail Marin ("Ruy Lopez with 6.d3"). "Lucky bag" with analyses by Adhiban, Ganguly, Mikhalchishin, Bartel et al. Over 44,000 new games for your database.
In this video series Pert gives a strong and practical Black repertoire against the Anti-Sicilians such as the Bb5 Sicilian, the Grand Prix Attack, the Alapin and many more, from my years of experience playing the Sicilian.
€29.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.