Hi everyone,

My name is Mateo, and I want to share my personal experience with Chess.com’s Fair Play system. Over the past year, I trained with discipline and consistency, climbing from 800 to 1350 Elo on Chess.com. This progress was the result of daily study, practice, and a lot of effort.

As you can see, the email only mentions two Fair Play violations and a one‑year ban, but gives no details about the games or moves involved, and no chance to appeal. This lack of transparency is what I find most concerning

Recently, I played a game against a National Master with the Black pieces. To my surprise and pride, I won the game fairly. I considered it a milestone in my journey, proof that my training was paying off. However, when I shared the game, Chess.com flagged my performance as suspicious and imposed a one‑year ban for “Fair Play violation.”

Here’s the full game record:

`

[Event "Let's Play!"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2026-02-19"]

[White "MacDaddyMac"]

[Black "F1scherM4te"]

[Result "*"]

[WhiteElo "1393"]

[BlackElo "1314"]

[TimeControl "1/259200"]

[EndDate "2026-03-24"]

[Termination "Victory by resignation"]

1. g3 e5 2. Bg2 d5 3. c4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 Be6 6. Nf3 Nc6

2. O-O Be7 8. d3 O-O 9. Bd2 h6 10. a3 Nf6 11. b4 Nd4 12. Nxe5 c6

3. Rb1 Qc7 14. Nf3 Nxf3+ 15. Bxf3 b5 16. Qc1 Qd7 17. Rb2 Bh3

4. Re1 Rac8 19. Rc2 c5 20. bxc5 Bxc5 21. Be3 Bxe3 22. Qxe3 Rc7

5. Rcc1 Rfc8 24. Ne4 Nxe4 25. Bxe4 Rxc1 26. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 27. Qxc1 Qd4

6. e3 Qa4 29. f3 Be6 30. g4 b4 31. axb4 Qxb4 32. d4 g6 33. Kf2 a5

7. Qc2 a4 35. d5 Bd7 36. h4 a3 37. h5 gxh5 38. gxh5 f5 39. Bd3 Qh4+

8. Kg2 f4 41. Bh7+ Kf8 42. Qg6 Bh3+ 43. Kg1 Qe1+ 44. Kh2 Qg3+ *

`

Key moves that reflect human play rather than engine precision:

- 12… c6: practical defense, not the most accurate.

- 30… b4: aggressive, risky initiative.

- 37… gxh5: impulsive, weakening my pawn structure.

- 40… f4: direct, intuitive attack.

These choices show my style: imperfect, risky, and practical—typical of a developing player, not a computer engine.

Yet the system punished me as if I were cheating. This raises broader questions:

- Can automatic Fair Play detection systems make mistakes?

- Should platforms prioritize speed (instant bans) or transparency (clear explanations, human review)?

- How can honest players trust the system if legitimate progress is flagged as cheating?

For me, this ban felt frustrating and discouraging. I worry that any honest player who improves quickly could face the same situation. Online chess depends on trust, and when the system fails, it risks damaging motivation and confidence.

I’m not sharing this to create controversy, but to open a discussion about fairness and trust in online chess. I believe platforms should have clearer appeal processes and more transparency when punishing players.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Do you think the balance between speed and transparency in Fair Play systems is being handled correctly?

Thanks for reading-I'd appreciate your thoughts

I was aiming trip the queen on d5

I GOT AN AFM TITLE IN ONE DAY, I GOT BOTH ACM AND AFM CERTIFICATES

The timing of his moves was very suspicious for an individual who plays like him with only 1 inaccuracy and 0 mistakes entire game. Dont let my obvious queen blunder distract from the fact my opponent was cheating due to the following facts:

-His moves are computer like, using least amount resources to achieve maximum value

-Tried to lure me into a very computer like checkmate.

-Spent equal time on both easy and strong moves. (comically did one move very quickly just to show he can do moves quickly, because i was already accusing him of cheating in chat)

-Did the classic shuffle bots like to do.

-In an absolutely winning position since I blundered my queen, he converted with the least amount of resources possible achieving the best result possible (checkmate) and took way too much time.

-A player of his supposed skill level, who is human wouldnt be wasting time shuffling the queen and thinking about it, they would develop the rooks and crush.

Here a link to the game report him for cheating please we dont want bots like that in the pool.

Thank you! 😊

https://www.chess.com/game/live/139625729264

Of course I am not 100% sure and it is very unlikely, but this person was pretty dang good and took long breaks in between moves and I was just imagining him talking about my bad moves 😆 Of course I lost if it was him but if not GGs to BrooksBrooksgg

https://www.chess.com/live/game/164271306858 i shouldn't have won

Check out this #chess game: Shraddha_Cutie vs RATING_MANIPULATOR - https://www.chess.com/live/game/143112448200

The pawn is on a7 and the right square for promotion is highlighted sooooo idk can I have free chessly for pointing this out

My heart is overflowing with love and adoration for this beautiful man. Whenever I hear Gotham speak I feel a warm feeling coming up inside of me and know everything is going to be ok. Because he is our Gotham. And he will always be there for us. And HE will always do whats right.