A Latvian-Czech chess player has been suspended by the International Chess Federation for “using his phone” during a game. The federation said the player was caught “red-handed”.
Igors Rausis, 58, has been under the suspicion of cheating and was on the ethics committee. FIDE director-general Emil Sutovsky said that this is just the beginning of action being taken against cheating in chess.
The 58-year-old had won the grandmaster title in 1992 and has represented Latvia, Bangladesh and the Czech Republic. He is ranked 53 with an Elo of 2686 and is the oldest rated player in the FIDE database.
It was reported that a phone, used by Rausis at the Strasbourg Open, was found in a toilet. He later signed a declaration that it belonged to him.
“I simply lost my mind yesterday,” Rausis was quoted as saying by chess.com. “I confirmed the fact of using my phone during the game by written [statement]. What could I say more? Yes, I was tired after the morning game and all the Facebook activity of accusers also have a known impact. At least what I committed yesterday is a good lesson, not for me – I played my last game of chess already.”
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