Young chess grandmaster faces 3-year ban after being caught cheating on smartphone in toilet

A 26-year-old chess grandmaster has been disqualified from an international competition after being caught cheating by using a smartphone in the toilet in order to check his moves.

Gaioz Nigalidze, the reigning Georgian national champion, may face a ban of at least three years if the charge against him is upheld.

Nigalidze was playing against his Armenian opponent Tigran Petrosian in the sixth round at the Dubai Open, where the latter alerted officials that his rival was taking regular breaks to visit the bathroom.

Subsequently, officials found a smartphone wrapped in toilet tissue and hidden in the cubicle after the grandmaster emerged from the toilet.

Reflecting on the issue, the tournament director Yahya Mohamed Saleh said that the player had denied it was his, but insisted that it was logged into his Facebook page and there was a chess program running on it, showing his positions, the BBC reported.

The incident was the first case of a grandmaster being referred to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) since it established an Anti-Cheating Commission last year.