A YouTuber has been kicked out of a £75,000 chess tournament after admitting to cheating.
Streamer Benjamin Lupo, known as DrLupo, confessed to reading the chat on his stream and gaining ‘information he shouldn’t have had’ during a clash with higher ranked YouTuber Wolfe ‘Wolfey’ Glick in the PogChamps 6 chess tournament.
The online tournament, hosted by Chess.com, largely features internet personalities while Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze has been involved this year.
Viewers noticed the American streamer appeared to be looking between different monitors at crucial moments and was playing above his skill level, executing a series of flawless moves after an early blunder.
One viewer commented: ‘This is the most obvious cheating I’ve ever seen.’
The 38-year-old originally denied the allegations, posting on X: ‘Literally explained all of it on stream as I was playing. Didn’t cheat. Had a good game and got rolled the rest of the day.’
Streamer DrLupo has been kicked out of a chess tournament after admitting to cheating
Viewers noticed the American streamer appeared to be looking between different monitors
He admitted to reading the chat on his stream and gaining ‘information he shouldn’t have had’
However, he later admitted to ruining the ‘competitive integrity for those involved’.
‘Had a ton of fun playing, but have decided to drop out of the event to help maintain competitive integrity for those involved, as well as the tourney organizers,’ he wrote.
‘Having the main stream up on my left monitor over the course of the day today to watch other games being played led to me getting move information I shouldn’t have had for a game.
‘That’s on me and no one else. That’s my f*** up. I apologize – you’d think I would know better, but here we are.’
He added: ‘Believe me or not – I played what I played. Pulled from chat though, couldn’t stop looking. Which as I said, I know better.’
Tournament organiser Chess.com said DrLupo had been removed for a ‘fair play violation’ and he will be replaced in the tournament.
‘We wish everyone the best tomorrow and remind them that receiving any help during a match is a violation of our fair play policy and will result in a disqualification and account closure,’ they added.
DrLupo’s disqualification is far from the first scandal to hit the sport, with world chess great Magnus Carlsen dumped out of a major tournament for wearing jeans in December.
The online tournament features internet personalities and Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze
The 38-year-old originally denied the allegations before admitting to cheating in an X post
The Norwegian was defending his World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York in December when the World Chess Federation (FIDE) made the request.
He said he offered to change his trousers for the following day before being fined $200 and told he needed to change straight away.
After being told he would not be allowed to continue, he reportedly responded ‘I’m out, f*** you’.
In a statement, FIDE said its dress code regulations were designed to ‘ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants’.
The five-time World Chess Champion said he had a lunch meeting before the round and had to change quickly.
‘I put on a shirt, jacket and honestly like I didn’t even think about jeans, even changed my shoes,’ Carlsen told Take Take Take, an app for following chess.
‘I didn’t even think about it. First of all, I got a fine which is fine, and then I got a warning that I would not be paired if I didn’t go change my clothes. They said that I could do it after the third round today.
‘I said “I’ll change tomorrow if that’s OK, I didn’t even realise it today”, but they said, “well you have to change now”. At that point it became a bit of a matter of principle for me.’
Eze is a keen chess player took part in the amateur chess tournament hosted by Chess.com
DrLupo’s disqualification is far from the first scandal to hit the sport, with world chess great Magnus Carlsen dumped out of a major tournament for wearing jeans in December
The five-time World Chess Champion said he had a meeting before and had to change quickly
Carlsen was also previously involved in a long-running legal dispute after accusing a rival of using ‘anal beads’ to beat him.
The sport was rocked by rumours that a chess coach had told his rival Hans Niemann what moves to play by sending buzzes to a sex toy hidden in his body.
However, after being cleared of cheating, Niemann sued Carlsen for $100million for ruining his career after the world champion suggested he cheated his way to a stunning victory against him at a tournament in 2022.
The lawsuit was dismissed in the summer of 2023 and Niemann reached an agreement with the sport’s online platform Chess.com.
In January, Carlsen faced match-fixing allegations after sharing his world title with a Russian rival.
Drawing against Ian Nepomniachtchi, also known as Nepo, at the World Blitz Championships on Wednesday, Carlsen leaned over the board and offered his opponent a deal.
The move was then approved by International Chess Federation (FIDE) officials, making Carlsen and Nepo world champions and splitting the $90,000 prize.
Another fiery chess feud broke out between two grandmasters in November 2023, with Russian Vladimir Kramnik accusing America’s top player Hikaru Nakamura of cheating after a 46-game no-loss streak on Chess.com
Kramnik accused his rival of cheating, claiming his winning run was statistically impossible.
Florida-based Nakamura, 35, hit back in a series of YouTube clips accusing Kramnik of ‘cherry-picking’ the figures – until Chess.com hired an ivy league math professor to intervene in the dispute.
