The most exciting championship chess news in years!

An international French chess grandmaster along with two of his teammates were suspended by the French Chess Federation over allegations of using a scheme involving computer software and text messages during tournament play.

"The allegations of the cheating came within the French chess set-up, after the federation’s vice president Joanna Pomain found a seemingly incriminating text message on one of the players’ phones.

She found a message sent to Mr Marzolo by Mr Hauchard that read ‘Hurry up and send me some moves ’.  She later discovered Mr Hauchard had sent some 150 messages to his teammate during the tournament at Khanty-Mansiysk last September."

From French Nerds Don’t F*ck Around by Carmel Lobello posted on March 25, 2011:

According to the French federation, while international grand master Sebastien Feller, 19, was involved in a game, Cyril Marzolo followed developments over the internet and used computer software to establish the best next move. The answer was then sent by means of a coded text message to the third member of the team, Arnaud Hauc
hard.

The third member would then sit himself at a particular table in the competition hall. Each table represented an agreed square on the chess board. This, according to French media reports, was the most delicate part of the operation.

Mr Feller, a grandmaster, won three games at the tournament, collecting a gold medal and £4,400 in prize money.

In the past, there have been allegations of cheating in chess, but never with concrete proof.  These allegations have shocked the chess world.  Oh my!

 Sebastian Feller, 20 year old chess grandmaster was
one of the top French chess players suspended