Italy’s Corruption Charge Mayor Loris Cereda Banned for Cheating at Chess
The glasses sent live images of his opponent’s moves to a powerful chess software programme that then dictated through a secret earpiece the correct counter-move to make.
Cereda, a member of Berlusconi’s People of Freedom Party, was exposed by fellow players who had witnessed a sudden improvement in his game.
Cereda was transformed from a mediocre amateur player into a local Garry Kasparov, they said.
Cereda is facing corruption charges after he was allegedly filmed taking a €10,000 bribe to green-light the construction of a car park next to a shopping centre.
Police said he was also bribed with two Ferraris and a Bentley.
The town of Buccinasco has a reputation for mob infiltration and has been nicknamed the northern Platì, after the Mafia stronghold city in Calabria.
Cereda said: “I’ve never cheated nor used strange technology during matches.
“There have been tournaments in which I played well but also many others which went badly. Nearly all the tournaments were played in the presence of a referee and a fair number of spectators.
“My mistake has been not to show up in front of the judging panel but I didn’t want to fuel controversies that could have damaged the world of chess that is my passion and has been part of my life for 40 years.
“I’ve never been less than a good sport and as someone who loves this sport, I could not imagine doing such a thing.”
http://www.uschess.org/assets/msa_joomla/XtblMain.php?201211252412.3
Here is a story in the Italian press:
http://milano.corriere.it/milano/notizie/cronaca/13_gennaio_23/buccinasco-cereda-scacchi-radiazione-2113682726861.shtml.
This story speculates more clearly that he would have had an accomplice picking up the reflection. The five comments underneath are not informative.
Speaking of suspiciously impressive Italians, I noticed that Gromovs Sergejs (ranked #196 in the tournament) just scored 6.5/10 in Gibraltar to gain 76.5 rating points.
$500.00
there a a lot of chess cheaters today and no one is doing anything about it!!
has anyone noticed that all the chess cheaters are men??
He prolly is trained by Berlusconi.