We have been advised by the NIBU authorities that the above named players have been suspended by the NIBU for a three-year period commencing 20 June 2022, on the grounds that they were found guilty of collusive cheating during online play. This suspension applies to both online and face-to-face play, and, by virtue of the European Bridge League’s reciprocity agreements, applies also to CBAI events, both online and face-to-face. This pair has played extensively in CBAI online events under the BBO names “granda tom” and “higheg” respectively.
The CBAI’s Online Ethics Committee, at the request of the NIBU, played a major role in the investigation of the allegations against these players, and our thanks are due to them for their efforts. Any investigation of this type is a painstaking exercise in analysis. All bridge competitions played on BBO or similar platforms record each bid made, explanation given, every lead and card played. Because of the upsurge in online play in the past couple of years, a number of statistical techniques have been developed to look for examples of potentially suspicious actions in response to allegations of impropriety, which have made the task considerably easier. To take a simple example, if every time a player makes a non-standard action such as underleading an ace against a suit contract, the gambit works in their favour, then it is reasonable to ask whether there is more than just good luck involved. The algorithms developed screen for such actions to present the investigators with a more or less instant set of hands worthy of further analysis. Anyone contemplating cheating online should be aware that, should any allegations of impropriety be made against them, these statistical analyses, which are used throughout the bridge world, make it highly likely that they will be caught and sanctioned appropriately. So please don’t be tempted; it’s not worth the risk.