The Desert Sun Palm Springs, California Saturday, July 26, 1980 - Page 18
Title Norm Cheating Common
Recent articles by top players indicate that cheating to get international title norms may be becoming a fairly common practice worldwide.
David Levy of Scotland wrote a piece cited in this column some weeks back where we named titled players, who, he said, would agree in return for a sum of money to draw or lose a game so that a tourney prize or title norm could be assured. Levy's piece was first published in Iowa in Bob Long's magazine, Chess Atlas.
A top player in Australia, Robert Jamieson, published material on title norm cheating in his magazine, Chess Player's Quarterly. Other chess editors have commented on this problem.
Cheating can take many forms. A young player earns a title — grand master, international master or FIDE master — by establishing a specified performance rating level and achieving specified results in 24 games against high-level competition.
Twenty-four games takes usually two or sometimes three master level tourneys. Each such tourney where specified results are achieved provides the title aspirant with a title “norm,” a leg on the title.
Granting of titles is a touchy subject in the world chess federation (FIDE), and title requirements over the years have been changed several times. FIDE's general assembly has been only marginally successful in keeping title requirements high. But it has been less than successful in curbing those who violate the requirements or those who organize tourneys designed to circumvent the intent of the requirements.
It's possible, for example, to arrange tourneys where title aspirants can obtain an international master title without ever beating or even drawing against an international master or grand master.
The ideal format for a tourney where title norms are attainable is one where prizes are high and the only income to title players comes from the tourney prizes they are able to win. In such events, titled players have high incentives to win and title norms gained by title aspirants are hard-earned and well-deserved.
Game of the Week
This game between Robert Fischer of the United States and Ruben Rodriquez of the Philippines recently had its first publication in the West. It was annotated by Jimmy Adams in the June issue of British Chess magazine.
