[Elianna]

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, I'm not a prolific BBO forums reader anymore.

But I saw this on BBC, and thought that it was worth sharing:

http://www.bbc.com/n...xts-at-mwc-2018

[cherdano]

Elianna, on 2018-February-28, 15:46, said:

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, I'm not a prolific BBO forums reader anymore.

But I saw this on BBC, and thought that it was worth sharing:

http://www.bbc.com/n...xts-at-mwc-2018

Bad news for the real cheats, though. They've already custom-built something like this on their own, and now that the buggers can join the fun, the bridge authorities may finally decide to do something about it...

[MrAce]

Elianna, on 2018-February-28, 15:46, said:

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, I'm not a prolific BBO forums reader anymore.

But I saw this on BBC, and thought that it was worth sharing:

http://www.bbc.com/n...xts-at-mwc-2018

Richard (Hrothgar) and I warned people for this about 2-3 years ago.

[hrothgar]

MrAce, on 2018-February-28, 18:55, said:

Richard (Hrothgar) and I warned people for this about 2-3 years ago.

I was warning about this back during the race cars scandal....

[steve2005]

Makes you wonder why ACBL so worried about cell phones. Anyone serious about cheating would use something like this not a cell phone.

[barmar]

steve2005, on 2018-February-28, 23:05, said:

Makes you wonder why ACBL so worried about cell phones. Anyone serious about cheating would use something like this not a cell phone.

Because practically everyone already has a cellphone.

[pescetom]

Using a SIM based system does not seem like a great idea: it's overkill for cheating at the same table and too easy to block if in different rooms or at a high level tournament.

Just take a pair of trousers and sew in some pressure sensitive textile at knee level and a silent vibrator in the groin area, wire both to a class 1 Bluetooth transmitter (good for 100m) in a pocket with a false bottom, and you're done. Now every time your partner presses his knees together you get a tingle in the groin, and vice versa. Short taps for high honours, a longer tap to request a suit change, u.s.w. Effective, practical and cheap.

[barmar]

Naked bridge?

[hrothgar]

barmar, on 2018-March-02, 09:35, said:

Naked bridge?

The solution to this is damn obvious.

1. Have people play top level events on computers

2. Put all the Norths in one room, all the South's in another, ...

3. Separate people by enough distance that it becomes trivial to sweep for signals

4. Time delay the boards so that boards that are broadcast on the Vugraph are not being played live

[barmar]

hrothgar, on 2018-March-02, 09:51, said:

3. Separate people by enough distance that it becomes trivial to sweep for signals

If they use something based on cellphone technology, they could be in different countries. Are all the venues going to have cellphone jammers?

[hrothgar]

barmar, on 2018-March-02, 10:15, said:

If they use something based on cellphone technology, they could be in different countries. Are all the venues going to have cellphone jammers?

Cell phone jammers are illegal in the US.

Cell phone detectors are cheap and reliable...

[Vampyr]

hrothgar, on 2018-March-02, 09:51, said:

The solution to this is damn obvious.

1. Have people play top level events on computers

2. Put all the Norths in one room, all the South's in another, ...

3. Separate people by enough distance that it becomes trivial to sweep for signals

4. Time delay the boards so that boards that are broadcast on the Vugraph are not being played live

Obvious maybe, but not much fun.

[pescetom]

barmar, on 2018-March-02, 09:35, said:

Naked bridge?

Sounds unrealistic, too much potential UI

My smart trousers were just intended as an example of how easy it would be to cheat using over the internet components.
A more determined and ingenious cheat could do the same things within a dental implant if need be.

[hrothgar]

pescetom, on 2018-March-03, 07:56, said:

A more determined and ingenious cheat could do the same things within a dental implant if need be.

Most modern hearing aides are bluetooth enabled and designed to also pick up radio and the like.

This is the primary reason that I think that Vugraph boards need to be time delayed

You can't prevent people from wearing the receiver.
People can place a powerful transmitter where ever

[hrothgar]

Vampyr, on 2018-March-02, 19:35, said:

Obvious maybe, but not much fun.

Fun has its place. In the short term, I wouldn't recommend anything like this for bridge clubs or low stakes tournaments.
However, if we look at the top levels of the game, the results from most every major event for 15+ years are irrevocably contaminated by cheating (and the only people that we caught are the idiots)

You have a choice: "Fun" or a clean game...

[Vampyr]

hrothgar, on 2018-March-03, 08:19, said:

Fun has its place. In the short term, I wouldn't recommend anything like this for bridge clubs or low stakes tournaments.
However, if we look at the top levels of the game, the results from most every major event for 15+ years are irrevocably contaminated by cheating (and the only people that we caught are the idiots)

You have a choice: "Fun" or a clean game...

Well, an improvement on your suggestion would be to put screen-mates together.

But there are other problems. When I play bridge online I regard it about as seriously as Candy Crush. I think that it might be tough for people to take playing on a computer seriously.