GM Kirill Shevchenko, ranked 75th in the world, has received a three-year worldwide ban from chess, with one year suspended, allowing him to return to competitive play in October 2026. The 22-year-old confessed to hiding a phone in the toilet but denied using it to cheat with an engine.
FIDE announced today that the Ukrainian grandmaster has been found guilty of breaching Article 11.7(e) of the FIDE Disciplinary Code following a scandal during the Spanish Team Championship in Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast, that broke on October 14, 2024.
In the decision by the EDC Chamber Shevchenko can return to tournament play on October 18, 2026. The sanction's suspended portion extends to 2027 and will become a ban should he reoffend:
The ruling made Shevchenko the highest-profile chess player to be suspended for cheating by the chess governing body. The 22-year-old currently ranks 75th in the world and second in Romania, with a rating of 2653. His achievements include winning the 2021 European Team Championship with Ukraine and a major blitz tournament ahead of GMs Fabiano Caruana and Arjun Erigaisi.
The Shevchenko Case
The cheating scandal involving the Ukrainian-born grandmaster representing Romania sent shockwaves around the chess world last year when a locked phone, accompanied by a note instructing finders not to touch it, was found in a bathroom next to the tournament hall.
The investigation by the tournament arbiter was sparked by Shevchenko's opponent in the second round of the event, GM Francisco Vallejo Pons, who complained to the arbiter that Shevchenko was spending too long away from the board.
Concerns were also raised privately by GM Bassem Amin, his opponent in the first round. Subsequent investigation revealed that a second phone had been found in the same location the previous day.