Welcome to Rooked: The Cheaters' Gambit. Join hosts Jess and Ryan as they unravel the ongoing chess cheating scandal (among other chess controversies).
Elon Musk tweets - and then deletes - a joke (?) about cheating in chess via anal beads. Suddenly, the game of chess is thrown into the spotlight again, two years after the well-received debut of The Queen's Gambit Netflix series (we have no affiliation, but, like, the SEO is cool for us...and it was a pretty good show, in our opinions).
But what the anal bead headlines are missing is the complicated web of accusations, slander, lies, cheating, and overall drama that is casting a shadow on the once noble game of chess. We're looking for answers - and the truth - as this true crime continues to unfold in the manner of a truly modern whodunnit, where the clues are hidden in the holes of a chessboard, the deepest of Internet rabbit holes...and maybe some other holes, too.
Visit our website at rookedpodcast.xyz to learn more about the show, access transcripts, and discover some neato Easter eggs.
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Welcome to Rooked: The Cheaters' Gambit. Join hosts Jess and Ryan as they unravel the ongoing chess cheating scandal (among other chess controversies).
Elon Musk tweets - and then deletes - a joke (?) about cheating in chess via anal beads. Suddenly, the game of chess is thrown into the spotlight again, two years after the well-received debut of The Queen's Gambit Netflix series (we have no affiliation, but, like, the SEO is cool for us...and it was a pretty good show, in our opinions).
But what the anal bead headlines are missing is the complicated web of accusations, slander, lies, cheating, and overall drama that is casting a shadow on the once noble game of chess. We're looking for answers - and the truth - as this true crime continues to unfold in the manner of a truly modern whodunnit, where the clues are hidden in the holes of a chessboard, the deepest of Internet rabbit holes...and maybe some other holes, too.
Visit our website at rookedpodcast.xyz to learn more about the show, access transcripts, and discover some neato Easter eggs.
Powered by Firstory Hosting

Finally, it’s the episode you’ve been waiting for: we talk about all things cheating, from the device itself (how easy is it to make and use?) to the history of cheating in chess, and what cheating means to the future of the game. Because if everyone is doing it, is it really that big of a deal?
Hosted by good producer / bad chess player Jess Schmidt and first-time podcaster / good chess player Ryan Webb, this series explores the events leading up to and following the Sinquefield Cup cheating scandal and tries to unravel the truth of what really happened - or, failing that, what the heck these events could mean to chess.
Pause and watch this video at the 6-minute mark: Actually making THAT chess cheat device video - Mike Boyd
And pause to watch this one at 8m30s: Does my chess cheat device get past the metal detector? - Mike Boyd
Thanks for listening!
If you’d like to read a time-coded transcript of this or any other episodes, visit rookedpodcast.xyz/transcripts.
Support us on Patreon and access monthly bonus content: www.patreon.com/rooked
Written, hosted, edited, and produced by Jess Schmidt and Ryan Webb.
Music by Lorna Gildfedder.
Featured in this episode:
Mike Boyd, The Guy That Learns Things Youtube channel
Chess Teacher JJ Lang and Therapist Julia Rios, hosts of chessfeels podcast
David Franklin, Associate Professor of Law
Brin-Jonathan Butler, author of The Grandmaster: Magnus Carlsen and the Match That Made Chess Great Again
Bill Cole, The Mental Game Coach
Ben Johnson, host of The Perpetual Chess Podcast
James Canty III, FIDE Master and Chess Streamer
Emilia Castelao, FIDE historian
Sources:
Hans Niemann gets carefully scanned - Sinquefield Cup
I'LL STRIP COMPLETELY NAKED Hans Niemann defends his cheating allegations
CLASSIC SCENE: Pulp Fiction
NASA: What does space sound like?
Hans Niemann VS Fabi In Crucial US Championship Game, Magnus Starts Drama In Qatar
Hans Niemann vs Piers Morgan (ERIC REACTS)
Shrek (2001) - Do You Know the Muffin Man? Scene (2/10) | Movieclips
My match against Hans Niemann. Detailed analysis
Kramnik on the C-Squared podcast
GM Tigran Petrosian responds to Wesley So's cheating allegations 🍿 PIPI IN YOUR PAMPERS!!!!
Hans Niemann: My proposition to Vladimir Kramnik
Announcing the Hans Niemann scholarship
Tweet: Niemann's performance is out of this world
Magnus Carlsen: "I was completely crushed in my game today..."
Magnus Carlsen: "I did ask an arbiter during the game whether watches were allowed..."
Magnus Carlsen: "Just to be clear, I am not accusing my opponent today of cheating."
Tweet: FIDE Laws 11.3.2
Confessions of a serial chess cheat: I’m quite enjoying the Carlsen v Niemann fallout
How to realistically elevate the status of Indigenous languages by Brittany McDonald
Further reading
FIDE Handbook Anti-Cheating Regulations
The biggest cheating scandals in chess
The History of Cheating in Chess