The Boston Globe du lieu suivant : Boston, Massachusetts • G23

advice ASK AMY CHESS NOTES BY HAROLD DONDIS AND CHRIS CHASE Picturing hypocrisy where there is none The matter of cheating in chess tournaments is so embarrassing that we find it painful to write about. Chess is a marvelous recreation that offers intellectual subtlety and aesthetic delight, and now it is being challenged by players with ambition and little conscience. The problem arises through clandestine communication with computers or partners with computers. Human beings cannot match the swift calculation of computers, which can analyze millions of positions on a symbolic board. Cheating is probably rare, but is serious in major tournaments and threatens the integrity of the game.

Methods of cheating become more subtle as devious players seeking prizes or prestige can theoretically use implants in their bodies and receive instructions from a partner standing in sight or communicating by code. It seems possible that cheating can be thwarted but only at great expense, which may be a hardship for tournament sponsors. Kenneth Regan of the University of Buffalo has developed a program that correlates player records and computer moves and claims success in developing a methodology to determine whether a player is playing over his head by use of a computer. His work has been used to protect players who honestly are having a good tournament and to identify cheaters, but does not appear to be infallible. At present, FIDE, the International Chess Federation, does not establish a code for prevention procedures to be used by tournament directors.

It is difficult to isolate a playing area from outside communication. However, many measures can be taken when a player is suspect, including metal detectors, inspection, and personal searches. There are legal impediments, as in nocent persons have to be protected. There are also legal problems of privacy with cellphones. Reports of cheating have increased.

German and French players have been identified as culprits. The latest incident occurred in Croatia at the Zadar Open tournament where a player romped well above his rating but lost a game when directors stopped broadcasting on the Internet. A limited strip search proved nothing. The player in the Croatian tournament was interviewed by a Russian news source and denied any violation. At the same time, he averred that he had, in preparation, defeated Rybka and Houdini chess playing programs by a 10-0 score each, all of which has left mouths agape.

The game needs rules, contracts, and statutes for its protection, as well as firm punishment. Live broadcast of games, which are popular with spectators, can be delayed long enough to make cheating impracticable. Directors simply must take on the expense to stop this problem. Brevity: Yaksin vs. E.

Gokcek (2008) l.e4 c5 2.NE3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Nb3 Bd7 10.f4 Qc7 ll.g4 a6 12.g5 Ne8 13.Nd5 Qd8 14.Bb6 Qc8 15.Nd4 e6 16.Nxc6 Kh8 17.Nde7 Qxc6 18.Nxc6 bxc6 19.Bd4 d5 20.h4; 1-0 Winners: Metrowest Holiday Cheer: lst-2d, Igor Foygel and Mika Brittain; Boylston Swiss: lst-2d, Eric Godin and Philip Nutzman, 3.5-.5, 3d-4th, Luke Lung and Alan Trogan, 3-1 Coming events: Metrowest CC Groundhog Swiss, Feb. 5, 12, 19, 26, Natick Community Center, Natick, inforequestMetroWestChess Winter Team School Challenge, Feb. 3, Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel, 181 Boston Post Road West, Marlboro, infomasschess.org. Q. Over the weekend, I uploaded photos from my recent wedding to Facebook so that our guests could enjoy them (we own the digital rights).

All of these images are simple, pleasant shots of guests sitting at their tables nothing embarrassing or inappropriate. A short time after I posted them, a friend sent me a private message on Facebook requesting that I remove a picture of her and her husband sitting at their table. She said she preferred not to have her photograph on the Internet for others to see. I respect that some people don't want to risk strangers seeing their picture and took it down. After I took it down, it suddenly struck me as odd that this friend would communicate this with me via Facebook.

I thought it was surprising that someone so cautious about the Internet would even have a Facebook account. Out of curiosity, I clicked on her page. I didn't see any content. The only thing there was her profile picture of her three children smiling for the camera! I find it shocking that someone so opposed to having her own picture on the Internet would purposefully post pictures of her children instead! What do you think about this? BAFFLED BRIDE A. I think you are choosing to be shocked about something that is not at all shocking.

If your friend doesn't want her photo posted on Facebook, so what? Why do you care? Maybe she is getting jowly or doesn't like her haircut. Maybe she is an international jewel thief. If she doesn't mind having her kids' photo on Facebook again, so what? You seem determined to brand this friend a hypocrite and catch her in some sort of double standard. You were accommodating to her (well and now you need to move on. Q.

My spouse and I have a 21-year-old son. He is our only child. He graduated from high school in 2010. He spent his first year of college on academic probation and failed every single one of his classes. He then moved back home and got a full-time job at the same fast-food restaurant he worked at when he was in high school.

He has since taken a few community college classes, passing with C's and D's. He is now taking management classes at the fast-food restaurant and one online class. He spends all of his free time playing "World of Warcraft" online and seems very content. As parents, should we encourage him to further his education or to seek different employment? Or do we simply let him grow up on his own? I know things could be much worse; I just wish he had more motivation. FLUMMOXED PARENTS A.

Your son isn't setting the world aflame, but if he has a full-time job, is taking management training and additional college classes, then he's doing middlin'. A disadvantage of his living at home is that he is experiencing some normal young-adult issues and being scrutinized by his parents. One thing to strategize about would be for him to move out and be self-supporting. If his online gaming means he doesn't have any real-world friends or if it interferes with his ability to put in a full day's work, then he has a time-management (or possibly more serious gaming) problem. You should urge him to realize his own goals, even if they are more modest than you would like, and let the growing-up part of his life continue.

Send questions by e-mail to askamytribune.com or by mail to Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 North Michigan Chicago, IL 60611. THIS DAY IN HISTORY Monday Jan. 28, is the 28th day of 2013. There are 337 days left in the year. Today's birthdays: Actor Alan Alda is 77.

Actress Marthe Keller is 68. Senator Jeanne Sha-heen is 66. Actress-singer Barbi Benton is 63. Movie director Frank Darabont is 54. Rock singer Sam Phillips is 51.

Singer Sarah McLach-lan is 45. Rapper Rakim is 45. Singer Joey Fa-tone Jr. ('N Sync) is 36. Rapper Rick Ross is 36.

Singer Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) is 33. Actor Elijah Wood is 32. In 1547, England's King Henry VIII died; he was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI. In 1813, the novel "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen was first published anonymously in London. In 1915, the United States Coast Guard was created as President Wilson signed a bill merging the Life-Saving Service and Revenue Cutter Service.

In 1916, Louis D. Brandeis was nominated by President Wilson to the Supreme Court; Brandeis became the court's first Jewish member. In 1973, a cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War. In 1980, six US diplomats who had avoided being taken hostage in Tehran flew out of Iran with the help of Canadian diplomats. In 1982, Italian anti-terrorism forces rescued US Brigadier General James Dozier, 42 days after he had been kidnapped by the Red Brigades.

In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. In 2008, Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama for the White House. REFLECTION FOR THE DAY Tracking an animal is opening the door to the life of that animal. Paul Rezendes WWW.REFLECTI0NF0RTHEDAY.COM Tom Fitzpatrick JANUARY 28, 2013 THE BOSTON GLOBE 23.