Important announcement about blindfolded solving

[Ron]

Fellow members of our community,

WCA board has come to the conclusion that there is proof beyond any doubt that the 2007 world record holder for blindfolded solving has cheated in the blindfolded events of several WCA competitions. The conclusion of WCA board has come after extensive investigations and a number of conversations with the competitor. The competitor has not confessed.

Proof
Proof shows that the competitor cheated by peeking underneath the blindfold.
The proof consists of the analysis of videos of several blindfolded solves in WCA competitions. Many videos gave a strong indication of cheating, because of the applied complex method combined with a flawless accuracy (77 correct solves out of 77 solves). The method had the effect that many edge and corner pieces changed positions and/or orientation while solving the corners of the cube.
One video of the multiple blindfolded event in World Championship 2007 brought proof beyond any doubt. The video shows that the competitor made an error (incorrect undo of set-up moves) during the execution of a step, and that instead of correcting the error, the competitor started solving the cube again. This is only possible if the competitor would have seen that he had made a mistake. Otherwise he would either have undone his incorrect moves, or he would not have been able to solve the cube anymore.

Verdict
WCA has come to the following verdict.

- WCA has banned the competitor for three years for all WCA competitions, starting today. The competitor may appeal for reinstatement after two years, if he fully cooperates with WCA.
- WCA has changed all blindfolded solves of the competitor to the result DNF (did not finish).
- WCA has requested the competitor to return his prize money in blindfolded events to the competition organisers. The organisers can then redistribute the prize money.

Other measurements
WCA has come to the following measurement to prevent future cheating in the blindfolded event:

A temporary regulation must be applied for all competitions under WCA Regulations 2007. For WCA Regulations 2008 (expected March 2008) the additional regulation will be fully integrated, including some other preventive measurements.
The regulation consists of placing a sheet of paper (or a similar object) between the face of a competitor and the cube during the solving phase. WCA is looking for a widely available multi-purpose (solving while sitting and while standing) device that would not require the judge to constantly hold the paper.

WCA wants to honour:

- the new world record holders: Danyang Chen, Chris Hardwick (twice) and Dennis Strehlau.
- the new world champions of World Championship 2007: Rafal Guzewicz (twice) and Chris Hardwick.
- the new silver medal winners of World Championship 2007: Shotaro Makisumi, Dror Vomberg, Bernett Orlando
- the new bronze medal winners of World Championship 2007: Tyson Mao, Yumu Tabuchi, Sinpei Araki
- all others who were damaged by the cheating of the competitor.

Communication
WCA will not use the competitor’s name in communication because the competitor is still under 18 years of age. For the same reason WCA distributed a detailed report on this matter only to a small number of involved parties. We kindly request our community to support the privacy of the competitor.

WCA encourages members of our community who have suspicions of cheating by other members to contact the WCA board, instead of making public announcements and/or feeding unfriendly public discussions.
The verdict is a very difficult decision by the WCA, but an organised sport is meaningless if its rules are not enforced. WCA would like to extend gratitude to everyone who assisted in this investigation.

All members of our community are welcome to respond to this announcement on the WCA forum. All messages with personal references or hostile expressions will be moderated.

Mission of WCA
The mission of WCA is: more competitions in more countries with more people and more fun, under fair conditions.

Kind regards,

WCA Board

Gilles Roux (France)
Masayuki Akimoto (Japan)
Ron van Bruchem (Netherlands)
Tyson Mao (USA)

[jazzthief81]

I can't help but feeling very aggrieved by this whole matter. What a terrible shame...

[pjk]

I agree with Lars, a terrible shame.

[pablobaluba]

although i'm a newbie to cubing...a few months only and my opinion might not be so important

as you said...this is really a shame. the same for any sport. and i lost all the respect i had for this guy.

congratulations for the real winners

[perfredlund]

Hi

I see no reason to lose all respect for a competitor who has clearly shown exceptional skills also in other events than BLD. The cheating that has been "proven" has taken place only in BLD, not in any other events in which the competitor has participated.

It is debatable whether the ban should be for ALL events and not solely BLD events, as the competitor was never caught cheating red-handed. But as i understand it the verdict is final and official!

- Per

[Guus Razoux Schultz]

Dear WCA members,

A very heavy verdict in my opinion.
Would it be possible he enters non-blindfolding events earlier than march 2010?
Is there any depedency between retruning the price money and re-entering competitions in 2010?
Did any competitor on any price-money-event ever signed a statement for resepcting the WCA-rules?
Would this be a could idea for the future?

Regards

Guus

[salvadorean_cuber13]

What a shame, but this incident should have been investigaed a while back. Oh well atleast the person has been caught and we can all hope that nothing like this happens again.

[Ron]

Hi Guus,

Thanks for your feedback.

A very heavy verdict in my opinion.

WCA Board thinks that this verdict is suitable for the damage caused, for the severity and frequency of the cheating, and for the lack of cooperation.

I think 'heavy' is hard to define universally, for example because of cultural differences and because some people are personally involved and some aren't.
I think that this kind of cheating is not something that suddenly happens. It is premeditated and took practice.

Our community is a community of friends. It should stay like that. Competitions should be like big reunions with a lot of fun and friendship.

Would it be possible he enters non-blindfolding events earlier than march 2010?

"The competitor may appeal for reinstatement after two years, if he fully cooperates with WCA."
That would be February 26, 2010.

Is there any depedency between retruning the price money and re-entering competitions in 2010?

Yes, that is part of 'cooperation'.

Did any competitor on any price-money-event ever signed a statement for resepcting the WCA-rules?

Art. 2a1 of WCA regulations.
But mainly I think it is part of the unwritten rules of sportsmanship and friendship.

I think we should also blame the WCA making such cheating possible.

WCA Board was already aware that cheating was possible.
New blindfolds and other devices were investigated. Unfortunately we did not find a universal solution soon after.
The use of paper in between face and cube was already applied. Now we know that doing this for some short periods is not enough.

Personally I believed and still believe in the goodness of people, especially people in our community.

I would have done it myself!

I hope you are not serious about that.

Regards,

Ron

[anders]

I find your announcement about the ”blindfold incident” well-balanced and that your verdict was the only possible. I fully support your decision.

As I stated in the Svekub forum, I will put this unfortunate incident behind me as quick as possible and instead be fascinated by great cubing achevements, by for instance Edouard Chambon, and continue to promote, to organise and to take part in cubing competitions for the fun of it.

Keep on Cubing!
Anders

[OlivérNagy]

Hi all!

I think The whole so called "investigation" and the verdict was totally unfair!

I said this not because the banned competitor is my friend (Because he is not my friend, just I know him well)! I not telling this because I support cheating, or something like this!

Please think about the following things:

- We all know that the banned competitor is a very talented boy! And I think maybe he is capable to realize that he made a mistake while doing the blindsolve, and he know that there is just a few peaces are gone, and he decide instead of doing back the whole algorithms, he can solve it a faster way!

- Is it a sin that someone has a 100% accuracy? Come on!

- Maybe he is a cheater! OK lets say, he is! But lets look where the hole thing started: Milán Had no proof that [the competitor] is a cheater, but he accused him with cheating! After this the whole cubers community started to look for some small evidence, just to proof this! I think this is very unfair!

- If somebody is cheating in any sport event, he only disqualified from that event (or the event where there is proof for cheating) and not from all of the events he take part in his life!

- If somebody is accused with cheating in any sport event, there must be an independent commission of inquiry! In here it wasn't very independent! I think the the WCA board is not independent! Why? Because if the banned competitor cannot compete any more, the people who was in the WCA board and made the so called "conclusion" will have a better chance to win in any competitions, and getting closer to the banned competitor's WR-s!

- I thought we (the WCA, and the speedcubers) do not accept video or photo proofs after the competitions (after the main judge made his decision), now it looks like we did! Ok it is not a problem! But then from now on the WCA must made Videos from every solve in every event, and analyze the whole video after the competition! It is only fair in this case! Because in the case of the banned competitor the WCA (and the speedcubers who try to help the WCA board) only find a few videos where the competitor maybe ceated! (Not in all of them!) What about the events where is no video from the solution? And the most important question: Why did not the WCA analyze all of the blindsolve videos and not just the banned competitor's? I think everyone knows that if someone is try to peeking underneath the blindfold, he is able to do it without any problem! From the beginning it was the meter of thrust!

- Why did not the WCA board made the decision so quick? Why don't they let the the banned competitor tho proof he's innocence? Ron said, that the banned competitor did not went to Benelux Open, where he could proof he's innocence! Why did the banned competitor do that? It is very simple: Around one week before the competition Ron said that the banned competitor could not compete in any event till his innocence is not proofed! And at the night the day before the banned competitor's plane leave Ron called him, that he can go and compete! If I know it well it was a few hours before the plane leave!

- The WCA said, that the banned competitor was not cooperative! I heard the whole story! Ron called the banned competitor and said: confess that you cheated! The banned competitor said that he did not cheat, so from that moment he was not cooperative! Congratulation! This is how it works!

- Banning someone from competitions for 3 yeas, is too much! The WCA thinks that they have proof for the cheating! Let's say that the competitor cheated! But how many times? We don't know! The WCA had only proof for only a few solutions! How many? 3 or 4, not more! And till the competitor cannot proof he's innocence, we only can say he probably cheated, and we cannot be 100% sure! If we will know 100% sure that the banned competitor cheated, he can be banned! but I think the 3 years is too much! I think 1 year will be more than enough!

- And one more about banning the competitor: Why he is banned from all events? Why not only from blindsolve events? It is totally unfair!

I hope everyone will think about the things I written! And I hope there will be some cubers who will support me and the banned competitor!

I wish you all a POP free lucky case in competition!

Olivér Nagy
Hungary!

PS.: Not all Hungarians are cheater!!! I said this, because we had some replys/ feedbacks where the the writer said that we all Hungarians are cheaters!

[Ron]

Dear Olivér,

Thanks for your feedback.

We all know that the banned competitor is a very talented boy!

Yes, he definitely is. I do not think that should make a difference.

he know that there is just a few peaces are gone, and he decide instead of doing back the whole algorithms, he can solve it a faster way!

That is still cheating. And I think it was also premeditated cheating, not something that just happened.

Maybe he is a cheater!

Proof shows that he is.

After this the whole cubers community started to look for some small evidence

That is not correct. I do believe though that the unpleasant discussion on the speedsolving forum sped up the process. Many of us did not like that discussion.

If somebody is cheating in any sport event, he only disqualified from that event (or the event where there is proof for cheating) and not from all of the events he take part in his life!

No. For example in tennis you cannot play doubles if you cheated in singles. Same for athletics, et cetera.

If somebody is accused with cheating in any sport event, there must be an independent commission of inquiry! In here it wasn't very independent! I think the the WCA board is not independent! Why? Because if the banned competitor cannot compete any more, the people who was in the WCA board and made the so called "conclusion" will have a better chance to win in any competitions, and getting closer to the banned competitor's WR-s!

That may be a good suggestion for future cases, thanks.
Still I think we had independent investigations. You would insult me if you would say I would want to ban the competitor because he is better than me.

I thought we (the WCA, and the speedcubers) do not accept video or photo proofs after the competitions

It does not say WCA board.

Why don't they let the the banned competitor tho proof he's innocence?

Behind the screens the competitor had plenty of opportunities.

It is very simple: Around one week before the competition Ron said that the banned competitor could not compete in any event till his innocence is not proofed! And at the night the day before the banned competitor's plane leave Ron called him, that he can go and compete!
I heard the whole story! Ron called the banned competitor and said: confess that you cheated! The banned competitor said that he did not cheat, so from that moment he was not cooperative!

There were talks to the competitor to make the competitor realise that it was a serious matter and to ask for cooperation.
You make it sound like I did not want to help the competitor. There were several personal talks with the competitor to offer him help in case he cheated and in case he did not cheat.

And I hope there will be some cubers who will support me and the banned competitor!

I support you and the banned competitor. But there is a proof and there is a verdict.

Regards,

Ron

[JohannesLaire]

I think it's very good that some evidence was posted at speedsolving.com. If nobody outside WCA (and a few other people) had seen it, then of course a lot of people would be suspicious about all this and would doubt whether the banned competitor really cheated.

Now that everybody is pretending to protect the banned competitor's identity and the thread at speedsolving.com is hidden, it doesn't suprise me that many people keep believing in the banned competitor's BLD abilities. Why wouldn't they?

Ron said, that the banned competitor did not went to Benelux Open, where he could proof he's innocence! Why did the banned competitor do that? It is very simple: Around one week before the competition Ron said that the banned competitor could not compete in any event till his innocence is not proofed! And at the night the day before the banned competitor's plane leave Ron called him, that he can go and compete! If I know it well it was a few hours before the plane leave!

Is this true?

And I think maybe he is capable to realize that he made a mistake while doing the blindsolve, and he know that there is just a few peaces are gone, and he decide instead of doing back the whole algorithms, he can solve it a faster way!

No, he would've needed to go back just 4 moves. The way he solved it was not faster.

[Ron]

Is this true?

I don't know whether this is the reason why the competitor did not come to Benelux Open 2008.

There were three phases of the investigation.
- suspicion
- strong evidence
- 100% proof
Somewhere in the 'strong evidence' phase the competitor confirmed that OLL system (and a 2x2 system) for corner orientations (as discovered on the videos) was his normal blindfolded system. Of course we asked him to prove this. But we discovered proving this online is impossible. If someone can cheat when you are there and he wears a blindfold, then he can easily cheat when you are not there. That is why we thought that coming to Benelux Open would be a good idea, so that he could prove his innocence. At that time we did not have the 100% proof.
For the record: competitor had already registered, fully booked the trip including a plane ticket. At the beginning of the conversation that Olivér refers to, the competitor said that he was already coming to Benelux Open, so then he could prove his abilities and speed in the blindfolded event. When confronted that before the competition first he should prove that he could consistently solve using the OLL system, he suddenly refused to come.

The point is that there was no need to prove that the competitor could solve fast in a competition. I have no doubt the competitor can solve pretty fast blindfolded. We needed a proof that he was fast and consistent with the OLL system.

Olivér picked two things from a long procedure. There is much more to tell, but I think it doesn't help anyone, so I will stop revealing more details about the investigations.

Regards,

Ron

[StefanPochmann]

National pride is so annoying. There are now two people publicly doubting the proof, both from Hungary, and one of them I believe being the one who encircled the Hungarian victories on the result sheets at German Open 2007 and pointed out to people how superior Hungary was (when in fact of course it wasn't Hungary but mostly one person).

[perfredlund]

Hi

WCA, congratulations on destroying a great cubing career. The competitor will probably never come back to cubing internationally. Why not remove all his outside BLD results achieved also? I am not Hungarian, but i doubt the so-called evidence is 100% water proof. I am, like Oliver, also critical that the whole investigation seems to have been led by WCA itself ... I think more than BLD rules needs to be changed in the WCA regulations to justify such radical actions in the future. How does such actions lead to more fun for competitors and competitions ?? Ron, would YOU really have come to Benelux Open under such circumstances - the pressure upon you would simply be too big. If the competitor had done well there, would the verdict really have been any different. I strongly doubt so ...

- Per

[StefanPochmann]

WCA, congratulations on destroying a great cubing career.

Please blame the offender, not the victims.

The competitor will probably never come back to cubing internationally.

How do you know? And why do you say that?

Why not remove all his outside BLD results achieved also?

Why should they?

i doubt the so-called evidence is 100% water proof.

You "doubt"? Like in, you haven't seen it? You just like to fuel conspiracy theories? Your doubt is an insult to the WCA. Request to see the evidence, or keep quiet. Don't attack something you don't know.

I am, like Oliver, also critical that the whole investigation seems to have been led by WCA itself

Was that claimed? And does it matter?

I think more than BLD rules needs to be changed in the WCA regulations to justify such radical actions in the future.

I fail to see the connection.

How does such actions lead to more fun for competitors and competitions ??

What are they supposed to do? Tolerating cheating? Now that would remove the fun for me. Also, where was that claimed? And why do you omit the "fair conditions" goal of Ron's statement?

Ron, would YOU really have come to Benelux Open under such circumstances - the pressure upon you would simply be too big.

How can you claim you know what Ron would do? Plus, how is Ron supposed to know what he'd do if he were a cheater? Useless question.

If the competitor had done well there, would the verdict really have been any different. I strongly doubt so

Yippie, another insult to other people's integrity. You're a moron.

In summary: Elvis is dead. Get used to it.

[StefanPochmann]

Clarification: When I said "Request to see the evidence" I didn't mean they'd actually show you. There's no reason to give it to every uninvolved bystander who happens to want to see it. On the other hand, there *is* reason to *not* make it public, to somewhat protect the competitor, as mentioned in Ron's initial message. I believe if the competitor himself asked them to make it public, they'd do so. Or he could simply do it himself. But apparently he doesn't want to.

And to not give a wrong impression: It's not like everything has been kept secret. The most important piece of evidence, pretty much standing as a proof on its own, was published for everybody to see.

[perfredlund]

Hi

My previous post was meant as a counter weight to many of the other comments who totally agree with the outcome of the verdict. Therefore it was a bit more harsh than really necessary. But i do believe that at least some more evidence should be made public here. One shouldn't have to frequent other forums for the evidence. This is the official WCA forum. And people should really stop to totally bash the competitor. Most of his big achievements have been outside BLD cubing. The verdict is not a conspiracy, but too harsh for my liking nonetheless. The WCA needs clear rules for dealing with such matters. The rules as they stand deal almost entirely with competition organisation.

I hope the WCA and cubing will continue to grow despite this very unfortunate incidence.

All the best!

- Per

[Schwarz]

Dear Friends,

I only want to share with you my very strong opinion about the verdict. Please read it carefully.

***********
This is my first post to the forum, so a few words about me (Nandor Fekete):
In 1981, as a 12 year old boy got 4 golden medals for Rubik's Cube competitions in Yugoslavia, and then made a pause untill the end of 2005. Then I noticed the new revolution and started to learn new algs. I have two children and one wife.
************

1. If someody could cheat, then theoretically everybody could cheat. So, the most important thing is to eliminate the possibility of cheating. You have proof for only one solving, but he is punished as you have proof for all solvings! Nobody can proof that noone else cheated!!!

2. Erasing all the BLD results with proof for only one solving is in my opinion much more than enough verdict. The additional 3 years is very brutal. If he is not so good as we thought, we would have the chance (and (almost) all of as would like to see) how he's trying to achive the good results again after their erasing! His near-future results would proof everything. But with exclusing him this is impossibile. If somebody would like to be a cynic he could say that the verdict-makers said to each other: „OK, we have to erase all his BLD results, but what will happen if already on the next competition he'll really solve with such good results? Hm... we must excluse him for 2-3 years!”

3. For a 14-15 years old boy 3 years are much more than for as, older people! Such a talented boy will hopefully find (or has already) some technical-science-hobby which will occupy him and maybe we can't see him on the competitions anymore. Eric Akkersdijk! Please, tell me: „Are you happier to win the 4x4 and 5x5 when you beat the big concurrent competitor or when nobody is near your results?” I think for all of us are the competitions much more interesting with a very-good puzzler than without him.

4. When you talk about non-cooperativity, you have to consider that he's 14-15 old and not an adult. We cannot expect from him to behave and cooperate as an adult, especially in this situation when his BLD results are erased and he is considered as a cheater. This is not easy to suffer. About the financial aspects maybe his parents are competent!

5. PLEASE, THIS IS ONLY A HOBBY AND NOT A SERIOUS SPORT WITH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS! This is only a game and even if he cheated, in my opinion it's much less serious than the football-goal which Diego Maradona gave with his hand against England! And then, nodody was punished!
In my opinion the verdict-makers took their job too serious! Nobody is killed or something like this!

6. My Resume: Erasing all his BLD results is quite enough verdict. If we are a communion, why don't we vote about this question in this forum? The question is: „should we excluse (caranteen) a member who made a sin against the community or it's enough to humble him with erasing all his BLD results?” If this decide only a few people than we have power-holders and dependants which is not a real characteristic of a community. (No problem if I don't have to vote yet, let's „use” only the older members.)

I thoroughly believe that the verdict-makers wanted to be maximally righteous! I only had to say that my sence of justice is different and that MAYBE more people think like me than in another way. And maybe you didn't consider everything I mentioned in above lines.

Sincerely,
Schwarz

[VooX]

I wish that this were not the topic for my first post, but I feel it is an important one.

The ban imposed upon the BC (banned competitor) is a fair one, and I support the WCA's decision and investigation. The punishment allows the BC to reflect upon his error and gives him time to learn from his mistakes and return to competition.

Many institutions hold honour the most important personal attribute. Elite military squads immediately expel a recruit from training and impose a LIFETIME re-entry ban for being caught cheating. Their reason is important: a person who cheats, steals, or lies cannot be trusted and is a liability to the overall group. The WCA has imposed an appropriate penalty given speedcubing is not life and death, but fun and games.

In the spirit of fun and games competitors are asked to abide by an honour system. It would be costly and difficult to adjudicate cubing events with cameras and video judging as they do in the Olympics; we have to rely upon people playing fair and mostly having amateur videos of events. At sponsored events with cash prizes, there tends to be good video coverage, particularly of final round events. Given the size of our community and the fun atmosphere we want to keep around cubing, these are good measures.

To uphold the reputation of the WCA, I am sure the board did not take their invesitigation into the BC's solves lightly. The board is comprised of some of today's most respected cubers and would have greater insight into BLD techniques than the average 3x3 speedcuber, like myself. The public stoning of the BC in the speedsolving forums is regrettable, but it must be noted that the WCA board was careful not to get involved while they were investigating the matter, and the OP did his best to provide evidence for his accusations.

The WCA decision was fair and sends a message to all competitors that cheating, when discovered, is treated very seriously. I sincerely hope that the BC will compete (fairly) in competition following his ban, and show he has learned from his mistakes and has better personal character.

Andrew VooX