A Scandal in PogChamps 6

The latest edition of “PogChamps”, chess.com’s series of events featuring stars of other games and fields playing chess, has viewers buzzing about a game between DrLupo and WolfeyVGC. DrLupo is known for a variety of games, from Fornite, to Fall Guys, to Escape from Tarkov, while Wolfey is one of the most respected competitive Pokémon battlers in the world.

DrLupo currently faces questions about the exceptionally high quality of his play, in this game starting on move 12, through to him winning on move 36. The sequence begins with the following position, where Black (Wolfey, rapid Elo 1340) has just played 10. …Nxd4.

It is entirely reasonable for a player rated 612 (DrLupo, White) to not play the best move, 11. Qa4+!, though unavoidably 11. Nxd4?? grades as a blunder in view of 11. …Bxd1. The main concern being voiced is that White proceeded to play a virtually flawless game from this point on. Black’s advantage dwindled, then vanished, as White’s minor pieces co-ordinated brilliantly to win decisive material and mate shortly thereafter. chess.com gave a 94% accuracy score, which is obviously hard to produce when the game includes blundering one’s queen. One observer noted the theoretical possibility that White read the previous move’s notation “Nxd4” and interpreted it as what they should play next.

The full game DrLupo – WolfeyVGC in question is displayed below. The move 14. b4 has gotten much attention, though perhaps 29. Bd5! is even more unexpected. And, it must be said it is rare that a queen on offer is not taken, where instead White followed a forced mating sequence.

Wolfey’s reaction to the game was very earnest, being both impressed by how DrLupo played, and critical of himself for, especially, not castling sooner.

DrLupo has released the following statement on Wednesday evening:

“Regarding @chesscom PogChamps tourney:
Had a ton of fun playing, but have decided to drop out of the event to help maintain competitive integrity for those involved, as well as the tourney organizers.
Having the main stream up on my left monitor over the course of the day today to watch other games being played led to me getting move information I shouldn’t have had for a game.
That’s on me and no one else. That’s my f*** up. I apologize – you’d think I would know better, but here we are.”

Despite the setback, Wolfey took first place in his group alongside gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik. Expect a statement from chess.com in the near future, and perhaps a disappearance of their game caption “DrLupo? Looking more like GM Lupo!”. Regardless of the verdict, it must be emphasized that using external assistance is indefensible. And should chess.com determine guilt, both they and DrLupo owe the chess community an open acknowledgement of what happened.

GM Eric Hansen has posted a longer critique of the game, including comments on the frequent looks away from the board after his opponent’s moves, the oddity of a low-rated player spotting backwards moves, and the confidence with which White played many of his moves. It also includes the first game of the two-game match, which was equally impressive.

Update: Later Wednesday evening, DrLupo’s account “LUP_OMEGALUL“ was marked as “Closed: Fair Play” by chess.com.