Vietnamese chess grandmaster Le Quang Liem responded to former world champion Vladimir Kramnik’s claims of his games being “unusual,” stating that Kramnik approach to the issue lacked persuasiveness.
On January 27, Vladimir Kramnik, the world chess champion from 2000-2007, raised concerns about Le Quang Liem’s games in Titled Tuesday on Chess.com. Kramnik claimed that Liem Le’s average accuracy in recent events was 90.5%, with one tournament reaching an accuracy of 93.8%.
Liem’s average accuracy is remarkably high, reaching 93.8%, which is unusual for any player in a tournament. According to Kramnik, no top player has achieved such a score, at least not in the past year. Perhaps Liem’s games need closer look. In fact, there was only one instance where a top player achieved a higher percentage, and that was Alireza Firouzja with a remarkable 94.2%.
Le Quang Liem, in response, emphasized the seriousness of cheating in chess, supporting all measures to prevent it, both in OTB and online play. He highlighted the strict anti-cheating measures implemented by organizers and arbiters in top tournaments like the FIDE World Cup, Grand Chess Tour, and Champions Chess Tour.
Vietnamese number one chess player also expressed his respect for Kramnik as a former world champion, but found Kramnik’s approach lacking in persuasiveness. He trusted Chess.com’s processes and organizational measures more than the subjective opinions of individual players.
“Cheating in chess, which is using computers or outside help, is a serious problem in the chess world. It puts the fairness of tournaments and the reputation of players at risk. That’s why I support all efforts to stop cheating, both in OTB and online chess. Top tournaments like the World Cup, Grand Chess Tour, Champions Chess Tour, and others have strict rules against cheating.
I admire Kramnik for being a former world chess champion. However, I don’t find his way of dealing with the issue very convincing. Kramnik has written many articles on chess.com and Twitter, suggesting that some strong players cheat online. However, chess.com has officially denied Kramnik’s claims. As a player, I trust the procedures of chess.com and tournament organizers more than the personal opinions of one player.
All my chess games are available to the public. I know that chess.com uses computer programs and a dedicated team to prevent cheating, reviewing hundreds of thousands of games daily for all players on the platform. It’s unlikely for someone to cheat for a long time without getting caught. If Kramnik or anyone else wants to investigate any specific game further, they have the right and ability to do so easily.”
Every word from GM Le Quang Liem to Attacking Chess.
Titled Tuesday is an online blitz chess tournament held twice a week, exclusively for titled players, $2,500 total prize. Each tournament attracts hundreds of titled participants, including top players like Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, and Hikaru Nakamura. Kramnik accused several players, including Nakamura, of cheating based on his observations from Titled Tuesday and other events.
Chess.com took action against Kramnik on December 24, closing his blog and muting this account on the platform. This decision was made due to Kramnik’s increasingly aggressive attacks on respected chess players, violating both Chess.com’s rules and FIDE code of conduct.
Kramnik, not satisfied with Chess.com’s decision, created an account on Twitter (now X), and continued to express doubts about other players. His arguments centered on the “accuracy” of moves emphasizing the differences in accuracy percentages among players during tournaments.
According to Chess.com, accuracy is “a measurement of how closely you played to what the computer has determined to be the best possible play against your opponent’s specific moves. The closer you are to 100, the closer you are to ‘perfect’ play, as determined by the engine”.
Le Quang Liem assured that all his games were public information. He also expressed confidence in Chess.com’s anti-cheating algorithms and analysis team. He stated that prolonged cheating without detection would be unlikely and invited Kramnik or anyone else to examine his games further, if they wished.
Some top players, such as Fabiano Caruana, supported Kramnik’s concerns about online cheating. “When we spoke to Kramnik he estimated that 25% of titled players in Titled Tuesday or online chess are cheating. I would guess it is much higher than that. I think it is probably over half [of titled players] who at least very sporadically [cheat]”, Caruana said.
However, there were dissenting opinions, with Hikaru Nakamura arguing that “accuracy” was not a reliable measure of a player’s cheating potential.
Vladimir Kramnik, 48, a world champion in classical chess in 2000, who dethroned Garry Kasparov, has been involved in controversy before. His prolonged stay in the restroom during the 2006 World Chess Championship final led to accusations from Veselin Topalov’s manager.
Le Quang Liem, 32, the top Vietnamese chess player for the past 15 years, won 2013 world blitz championship.