Vancouver teen wins chess tournament, sues after cheating allegations

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An avid teen chess player who has been playing since kindergarten is suing two chess groups that revoked his provincial title after accusing him of cheating in a 2022 tournament.

Princeton Chau, now 14, with his mother acting on his behalf, has filed a lawsuit against Chess ’N Math Association Canada and the Max Chess Academy, also known as the Vancouver Chess School, and wants the court to order them to “declare that Princeton did not cheat in winning the tournament.”

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“Princeton carries with him the lifetime label as a cheater in the eyes of friends, peers and the chess community, which is a critical social and learning environment for Princeton,” the suit states.

The B.C. Supreme Court is being asked to overturn a lifetime ban that prevented Princeton from competing as the 2022 provincial champion in the national competition, as well as in any Chess ’N Math tournaments hosted by the school.

The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for negligence, mental suffering or emotional distress, and breach of contract.

Princeton alleges he was denied “natural justice” because he was never told the specifics of the cheating he was accused of, and that the circumstances were not properly investigated.

The lawsuit cites damage to Princeton’s reputation, loss of emotional and mental health, feelings of guilt and self-blame and loss of enjoyment of life.

Based on his score in a 2022 regional event, Princeton qualified for the 2022 Provincial Chess Challenge, an annual scholastic chess tournament for B.C. students in Grades 5 through 12.

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The tournament was held online on June 5, 2022. The rules included that players could use only computers and not tablets, and a webcam was mandatory and had to be used during the entire tournament, the lawsuit states.

It also stated that anti-cheating software was in place. “Any foul play will result in permanent ban from VCS tournaments.”

Also, the player should be alone in the room, talking is not allowed, washroom breaks are to be taken between the five rounds and leaving the room for any reason during the tournament “will result in a forfeit” and that the arbiters’ decision is final.

Princeton said the only rules conveyed to him while he awaited the start of the tournament in the Zoom room was that only one webcam was permitted and no other people could be in the room with him.

“No other rules were provided to Princeton, verbally or otherwise, before or during the tournament,” the suit states.

Princeton played the tournament at his grandmother’s house and was alone in a room for about six hours. He was the only participant to win each of the tournament’s five rounds. He was told that day he’d won the tournament.

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But the next day, the Vancouver Chess School emailed him a decision notifying him that some games had been flagged by its fair play software, were reviewed by its fair play committee and those games were marked as losses.

Princeton was stripped of the provincial title, disqualified from the national tournament and wouldn’t be allowed to participate in tournaments.

“The decision insinuated that Princeton cheated in winning the tournament.”

Princeton’s father told the school that his son denied cheating and they demanded details and a full explanation.

Two days later, the school’s CEO, Maxim Doroshenko, told Princeton’s father the school’s fair play committee, including expert Kenneth Regan, was unanimous in its decision that computer support was used during all five of Princeton’s games.

Princeton’s family said a certified national chess master, Luc Poitras, investigated the matter and determined Princeton did not cheat.

“Princeton’s moves were easy to find and were not the types of moves that are complicated and usually recommended by a computer assisting,” according to Poitras.

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Poitras pointed out Princeton was under time pressure in two of the games “and that computer cheaters are never in time trouble” and his moves were varied whereas a “computer cheater is usually stable and consistent in the thinking time per move.”

Their lawyer, Michael Steven, said Princeton should have been allowed to participate in the national tournament with the benefit of the doubt that he did not cheat while a full investigation with a cross-examination of each expert was conducted.

But the school would only discuss the decision if Princeton attended a meeting. The parents opposed that and the Chess ’N Math Association “considered that any appeal process was therefore closed.”

The lawsuit also states that there were more rules than were disclosed to Princeton before the tournament and “the defendants knowingly misled … or … omitted to advise Princeton of all the rules and particularly his appeal rights under those rules.”

The suit also states the chess groups failed to fully investigate the cheating allegation because only statistical evidence was used and the groups failed to considered Poitras’s report.

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None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Princeton’s mother and litigation guardian, Kim Shek (Kammy) Aixinjueluo, declined to comment.

Messages left with the chess associations weren’t returned by deadline.

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