Kirill Shevchenko Receives 3-Year Ban For Cheating Incident, Admits to Hiding Phone

GM Kirill Shevchenko, ranked 75th in the world, has received a three-year worldwide ban from chess, with one year suspended, allowing him to return to competitive play in October 2026. The 22-year-old confessed to hiding a phone in the toilet but denied using it to cheat with an engine. 

FIDE announced today that the Ukrainian grandmaster has been found guilty of breaching Article 11.7(e) of the FIDE Disciplinary Code following a scandal during the Spanish Team Championship in Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast, that broke on October 14, 2024.

In the decision by the EDC Chamber, comprising Chairperson David Hater and members Olga Baskakova and Alan Borda, Shevchenko can return to tournament play on October 18, 2026. The sanction's suspended portion extends to 2027 and will become a ban should he reoffend:

The Respondent is sanctioned to a worldwide ban for three (3) years with one (1) year of the sanction suspended. During the period of suspension, should the Respondent commit a similar offense, he will be liable for the suspended portion of the sanction as well as whatever sanction is adjudicated as a result of the subsequent offense. 

The ruling made Shevchenko the highest-profile chess player to be suspended for cheating by the chess governing body. The 22-year-old currently ranks 75th in the world and second in Romania, with a rating of 2653. His achievements include winning the 2021 European Team Championship with Ukraine and a major blitz tournament ahead of GMs Fabiano Caruana and Arjun Erigaisi. 

The Shevchenko Case

The cheating scandal involving the Ukrainian-born grandmaster representing Romania sent shockwaves around the chess world last year when a locked phone, accompanied by a note instructing finders not to touch it, was found in a bathroom next to the tournament hall.

The investigation by the tournament arbiter was sparked by Shevchenko's opponent in the second round of the event, GM Francisco Vallejo Pons, who complained to the arbiter that Shevchenko was spending too long away from the board.

Concerns were also raised privately by GM Bassem Amin, his opponent in the first round. Subsequent investigation revealed that a second phone had been found in the same location the previous day.

Shevchenko was expelled from the tournament and, a week later, given a 75-day ban amidst an investigation by FIDE's Fair Play team (FPL). The suspension was subsequently extended while the EDC proceedings were ongoing, and Shevchenko hasn't played since. A month later, his Chess.com account was banned due to a Fair Play violation.

Shevchenko's Admission And Mitigating Factors

Shevchenko initially denied any wrongdoing and did not publicly respond to the allegations. However, according to the official case report, he admitted with the "deepest regret" to hiding a phone in the toilet:

On the same day, the Respondent sent an e-mail to the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission admitting, with the deepest regret, that he used a mobile phone during the game against Vallejo Pons on 13th of October 2024.

However, Shevchenko maintains that, while using the phone to access the chess platform Lichess, he did not "effectively" cheat and he denies his actions had any influence on his games, maintaining that he "did not complete the act of cheating."

"In this case, it is apparent that GM Shevchenko's clumsy attempts to use an electronic device in order to cheat were not effective, and the Player's behavior—while reprehensible—did not influence the result of the matches he was playing," his legal counsel wrote.

It is apparent that Shevchenko’s clumsy attempts to use an electronic device in order to cheat were not effective, (...) and did not influence the result of the matches he was playing.

—Sabin Gherdan, legal counsel for Kirill Shevchenko

According to an analysis by IM Kenneth Regan, the American professor and renowned expert on chess cheating, there were "no standard deviations of the player's performance in this particular tournament from his typical rating performance." In other words, according to Regan, nothing in the games points to any engine usage.

EDC Ruling: 'Cheating Is An Existential Threat'

When determining the sentence, EDC considered several mitigating factors that Shevchnko's legal counsel submitted in his defense. He maintains that he fully cooperated with the investigation, admitted to wrongdoing in a timely manner, and had a clean disciplinary record. The panel also noted that they saw video evidence of Shevchenko receiving death threats, and that his mental state was disturbed by threats to his family related to the war in Ukraine. 

Importantly, the EDC found that Shevchenko did in fact hide a phone in the toilet and also concluded that he attempted to cheat but was unable to determine, with comfortable satisfaction, that actual cheating occurred. They also noted that there is no evidence of cheating in previous events.

However, the EDC was clear on the seriousness of the breach, noting:

As previously stated, the fact that actual cheating did not occur may be relevant for the sanction, but it is irrelevant in determining guilt. Attempted cheating violates article 11.7 (e). Cheating is an existential threat to chess competitions and must be dealt with severely. Even an attempt at cheating is reprehensible and must be condemned in no uncertain terms and sanctions must be applied to deter others and protect our game. 

Cheating is an existential threat to chess competitions and must be dealt with severely. 

—FIDE's Ethics & Disciplinary Commission

The EDC argued against stripping Shevchenko of his grandmaster title, as was the request by FIDE's Fair Play Commission, due to what they considered to be "significant mitigating factors:"

If the mitigating factors in this case are not sufficient reason to not [sic] strip the title, it becomes difficult to comprehend what mitigating factors would justify not stripping the title. Given that the standard is "may," it would seem this particular respondent has a strong argument for discretion being applied in this case even though in most cases the title will actually be stripped even if the GM title was obtained fairly.

That verdict will likely provoke strong reactions from the chess community. The most notable similar case was that of the late Igors Rausis, who in 2019 was banned for six years and stripped of his grandmaster title after being caught with a phone during a tournament in France.

Another high-profile case was that of IM Gaioz Nigalidze, who was banned for three years and also stripped of his GM title after being caught cheating with an electronic device during the Dubai Open. A more recent case related to Belgian IM Stefan Docx, who was given a one-year-ban for refusing a body scan during an incident in Spain.

The Fair Play Commission has already indicated they may file an appeal, with Andrew Howie, Chair of the FIDE Fair Play Commission, stating: "Any penalty for fair play violations should serve as a strong deterrent, reinforcing FIDE's zero-tolerance stance on cheating."

"This decision appears too lenient and does not fully reflect our commitment to integrity in chess. We will carefully review the matter and determine whether to file an appeal within the prescribed period." 

This decision appears too lenient and does not fully reflect our commitment to integrity in chess.

—Andrew Howie, Chair of FIDE's Fair Play Commission

Response From Shevchenko: 'Death Threats And Extreme Pressure'

Shevchenko's lawyers, Sabin Gherdan at Gherdan & Associates and Dr. Madalina Diaconu, on the other hand, expressed disappointment at the severity of the sanction.

In a statement provided to Chess.com reflecting on their professional and technical assessment of the decision, they argued that nearly all mitigating factors were present in Shevchenko's case, yet he received the maximum recommended penalty for a first-time offender.

"We were expecting a less severe sanction, given the specific circumstances of the case," the legal team stated. "The FIDE Guidelines recommend a maximum sanction of three years for a first-time offender. In our case, nearly all of the mitigating factors were present, an occurrence that is rare in practice. Nevertheless, the maximum recommended sanction under the Guidelines was imposed, as though those mitigating factors had no practical effect."

We were expecting a less severe sanction, given the specific circumstances of the case.

—Kirill Shevchenko's legal team

They further noted that the EDC confirmed the act was not consummated and that Professor Regan's analysis found no statistical deviations in Shevchenko's performance during the tournament. They also said the 22-year-old was under "extreme psychological pressure" due to having received "credible death threats."

While we acknowledge the seriousness of the offense, it is important to emphasize that our Client was under extreme psychological pressure at the time, having received credible death threats, including videos showing firearms, originating from individuals located near the tournament venue, explicitly referencing his whereabouts in Melilla. These threats were both real and grave, and, in our view, should have been duly considered by the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission as strong grounds for imposing a lesser sanction.

Shevchenko's legal team said they are seriously considering an appeal, which must be filed within 21 days. They also do not rule out the possibility of escalating the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

A spokesperson for the Romanian Chess Federation told Chess.com they did not want to comment on the story.