Grandmaster’s Title Revoked in Cheating Scandal
On August 28, 2025, the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission (EDC) issued its final ruling on Grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko’s cheating case, stripping him of his GM title and imposing a three-year ban, with one year suspended, for violating Article 11.7(e) of the FIDE Disciplinary Code. The decision follows an incident at the 2024 Spanish Team Championship, where Shevchenko, a Ukrainian-born player representing Romania, admitted to hiding a mobile phone in a bathroom to access Lichess during a match. Despite denying effective cheating, the EDC’s Appeal Chamber, led by Yolander Persaud, upheld the FIDE Fair Play Commission’s appeal, confirming his guilt and revoking his title earned in 2017 at age 14. The ban, effective from October 19, 2024, to October 18, 2026, bars Shevchenko from FIDE events, with the suspended portion extending to 2027.
This ruling brings the total number of players with revoked FIDE Grandmaster titles to four! Shevchenko joined Alexandru Crișan (2000s, falsified results), Gaioz Nigalidze (2015, smartphone cheating), and Igors Rausis (2019, mobile phone use). Ironically, French Grandmaster, Sébastien Feller, who was infamously found guilty of cheating served 6 months in the prison but didn’t get his GM title stripped. FIDE’s strong decision and a firm stance underscores its commitment to integrity in chess.
Photo courtesy: Lennart Ootes
