Cheating at Chess and Backgammon

Backgammon and Chess Cheats

I have often been asked about cheating at Chess and Backgammon. Firstly, anyone who cheats at chess is, in my eyes, a really low character. I mean, why do it? It's such a regal game and even much more than a game--it's embedded in history. If ever I would take a moral stance against cheating, it would certainly be against chess cheating.

And how would one do it? Well, besides blatantly trying to move a piece to occupy a different square on the board, or trying to somehow sneak back onto the chessboard a piece that had been taken, there's not much a chess cheat can do than any qualified opponent wouldn't notice. Unless, of course, his opponent is blind (lots of blind people are tremendous chess players). And as far as cheating online goes, what's the point? Chess bots, like poker bots, do exist, of course, but who's playing chess online for money anyway? And what would be the fun of cheating with a chess computer? I don't see any point.

Live Backgammon is a different story, though. Backgammon is a major gambling game in the real world, and there are many ways to cheat at backgammon, some of which are similar to craps cheating, mainly dice control, and crooked or loaded dice. In online backgammon, I would make the same point as I did for online chess, mainly, what's the point? If you're somehow playing backgammon online for money and are using a backgammon bot (they exist too) to cheat your opponents, then more power to you because your opponents must be idiots, unless of course, they are cheating you back with their own backgammon bots!

For some really good information on backgammon cheats, check out George Joseph, a well respected authority on casino cheating who has a DVD out on the subject. He says that Backgammon is one of the first documented board games and the oldest that is still being played...that it is one of the most widely known and played games in the world and is enjoyed by adults and children alike...that it has evolved as a social activity with many local Backgammon clubs around the world that feature tournaments and money games. AND...that because it is a two-person game usually without supervision, it is susceptible to cheating.

Subjects covered in his DVD include: Dump Shot, peek, killed die, Hold Out Dump Shot, Slick Shot, tops, Juice Joint, gaffing fair cups, Butterfly Cup, dice switching, palming, Doubling Cube Hustle and much more.

Joseph claims that millions are lost to backgammon cheats every year and that his DVD is solely to provide protection for honest players.