Chessbase Mega Database 2023 -

The moves were mundane until move 22: Rxf3! The Silencer. White resigned three moves later. Viktor froze. Ivanov, A.—that was his own name. But he had never played in the Moscow Open. He’d been in Baku that week, recovering from a broken hand.

His heart pounded. The database wasn’t just a record. It was a weapon. Someone had poisoned the well—inserting fake losses into his historical record to create a statistical case for cheating. A player who loses in bizarre, engine-like fashion to weaker opponents is flagged. Enough such games, and the algorithm that caught cheaters would point straight at him. chessbase mega database 2023

He searched for all games by "Ivanov, A." from 2018 to 2020. Thirty-seven games appeared. He knew he’d played only twenty-two rated games in those years. Fifteen were ghosts. And every single ghost game featured a catastrophic blunder or a suspiciously timed loss. The same sacrificial motif. The same ratings band. The moves were mundane until move 22: Rxf3