CHESS GRANDMASTER SUSPENDED FOR USING PHONE DURING MATCHES

Kirill Shevchenko was suspended from a national-level competition after he was accused of using his phone during matches at the Spanish Team Championship in Melilla.

The Romanian chess grandmaster raised suspicion when others noted that he spent long periods away from the board during the opening rounds of the tournament. Soon after, a phone was found in a toilet cubicle next to a note in handwriting very similar to Shevchenko’s.

The 22-year-old drew the matches during the first two rounds of the competition, but after the suspension, those matches were turned into losses.

A statement was released by the Spanish Chess Federation saying the reason for his expulsion was “the usage of mobile devices during the playing of his matches”.

At the tournament, he was playing for Silla – Integrant Collectius. The team has also released a statement, saying it “rejects in the strongest and most blunt way whichever practice of illegal and/or illicit strategy used in an unsportsmanlike way to gain advantage”.

The statement also confirmed that it has parted ways with Shevchenko.

Shevchenko is currently ranked 69th in the international chess rankings. At this stage, it’s unclear whether the expulsion could have an effect on his rankings.

Image credit: Chess.com