A lower-rated amateur was thrown out of an open tournament in the Netherlands after being caught with a mobile phone hidden in his sock, after previously attracting attention by beating much higher-rated champions.

The 26th edition of the Hogeschool Zeeland University Chess Tournament is one of the most prominent tournaments in the Dutch chess calendar. It takes place this week in Vlissingen, with the two remaining rounds being played on Friday and Saturday. Grandmasters Samvel Ter-Sahakyan and Erwin L’Ami lead a field of nine grandmasters and eight IMs among 232 participating players.

Controversy arose during the seventh round on Thursday when a Dutch player known for competing in the lower leagues of regional chess was thrown out of the tournament for alleged cheating, according to a press release from schaaksite.nl.

The player had raised suspicions earlier in the tournament by beating several far higher-rated players with “near-perfect play,” organizers said. Judges then said they observed him going to the bathroom with a cellphone hidden in his sock.

“After about 12 to 13 moves he went to the toilet and we wanted to scan him. He initially refused, which is tantamount to an admission of guilt. Then he allowed the scan and a beep sound was heard, which he claimed was from his watch. However, it turned out that it came from a mobile phone,” chief organizer Hans Groffen told a local newspaper, adding that they did not want to reveal the player’s identity.

The player was eventually removed from the tournament and the organizers said they would report the player to the Dutch Chess Federation. “Of course it is unfortunate that something like this happens to you as an organization, but on the other hand you are also happy that such black sheep are weeded out,” said Groffen.

Of course, it is unfortunate that something like this happens to an organization, but on the other hand, you are also happy that such black sheep are weeded out.

—Hans Groffen

The incident this year is the second case of cheating at the Hogeschool Zeeland tournament. In 2022, a player from Singapore was banned for two years by FIDE’s Ethics and Disciplinary Commission for cheating at the 2019 tournament. The confession, which he made by email to FIDE more than two years after the event, detailed how he had used the phone to figure out moves during four of his games. The arbiters had never suspected him of cheating during the tournament.

In 2019, Chess.com also reported on the case of a player who was caught with a phone during the Dutch Open in the Netherlands. The 19-year-old amateur with a national rating of 1512, who had previously been suspected of cheating due to his strong results in several tournaments, was eventually caught with a phone when he was scanned with a metal detector.

The problem of cheating in online and live tournaments has become increasingly common in recent years, forcing organizers to take stricter measures against cheating. Metal detectors are becoming more common at high-profile events, but it is also not uncommon for grandmaster-level tournaments to have almost no fair play measures at all.

Chess.com has contacted the organizers for comment on this story.