Chess grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko is accused of using his cell phone as an aid in the toilet during a game in the Spanish team championship in Melilla. As the Spanish Chess Federation announced, the 22-year-old was then excluded from the competition and his two previous results were considered defeats.
The native Ukrainian has been playing for the Romanian association since 2023. Shevchenko denied the allegations and the Romanian Chess Federation assured him of support. “Such serious allegations must be substantiated by solid evidence and so far only circumstantial evidence has been published,” the association wrote in a statement. “We are awaiting the details of the case and will carefully examine the relevant evidence.” So far, the association only knows about press reports and alleged witnesses.
Cell phone was found in the toilet
According to reports from the chess.com platform, the organizing committee has been asked to investigate by the referee of the game between Shevchenko and Spaniard Francisco Vallejo. Vallejo had complained during the game that Shevchenko left his place on the board too often and for too long. Shevchenko attributed his frequent absences to problems that required him to use the toilet.
A cell phone was found in a stall in the toilet with a handwritten note not to remove it from there. The writing is similar to Shevchenko’s, they say. The cell phone was confiscated and the cabin was locked. Shevchenko was then observed trying unsuccessfully to enter that cabin. Afterwards he left without having accomplished anything.
Chess grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko is accused of using his cell phone as an aid in the toilet during a game in the Spanish team championship in Melilla. As the Spanish Chess Federation announced, the 22-year-old was then excluded from the competition and his two previous results were considered defeats.
The native Ukrainian has been playing for the Romanian association since 2023. Shevchenko denied the allegations and the Romanian Chess Federation assured him of support. “Such serious allegations must be substantiated by solid evidence and so far only circumstantial evidence has been published,” the association wrote in a statement. “We are awaiting the details of the case and will carefully examine the relevant evidence.” So far, the association only knows about press reports and alleged witnesses.
