Fair Play & Anti-Cheat Policy
Last updated: 2026-09-02
Fair play is what makes a rating and a leaderboard mean anything. This page explains what's expected in games against other people, and — just as importantly — what's completely fine to use, since Shahmat.org's own bots and analysis tools are built for practice and study.
Not allowed, in a live game against another human
- Using a chess engine, cloud analysis, or any other computer assistance to choose your moves.
- Getting move suggestions from another person, in any form.
- Operating more than one account to inflate a rating, dodge an opponent, or manipulate matchmaking or the leaderboard.
- Deliberately losing or stalling games (sandbagging) to manipulate your own or someone else's rating.
Always fine
- Playing against Shahmat.org's own bots — that's literally what they're there for.
- Using a finished game's Review board and evaluation bar after the game has ended.
- Studying with Learn, Rules, or the Explorer at any time.
- Using Train to prepare against an opponent's past games before a game starts.
How reports are handled
We're a small team, so review is manual rather than fully automated: when a report comes in, we look at the games and account history in question before deciding on any action. If something looks off in the meantime, that's not a verdict on its own — it just means we're taking a look.
Consequences
Depending on severity, outcomes range from a rating reset to a suspended or closed account, at our discretion. We try to be proportionate, and where reasonable we'll explain the decision if you reach out — see Contact.
Reporting suspected cheating
Email contact@shahmat.org with the player's username and the game(s) involved. The more specific, the faster we can look into it.