Former Swedish chess president lost 43 games on purpose

A former Swedish chess champion – who works with Magnus Carlsen’s club – was recently revealed to have lost 43 games in a row. He received a written warning for manipulation.

Carl Fredrik Johansson was chess president in Sweden in the period 2013 to 2018 – and is now the leader of Uppsala Skolschacksällskap, one of Sweden’s largest chess clubs for children and youth, which recently entered into a formal collaboration with Magnus Carlsen’s club Offerspill.

On Friday, the Norwegian chess president Joachim Birger Nilsen chose to resign, after he admitted to having cheated when he played for “Norway Gnomes” in the online tournament Pro Chess League.

In Sweden, the case of Carl Fredrik Johansson is not publicly known. But VG can say that he is among three players in Sweden who, as recently as this summer, were caught for breaching fair play rules.

While Johansson was eventually given a written warning for losing 43 online games in three days, the other two were banned from online play for two years.

VG spoke to Johansson on Friday, who, confronted with the information, first said “I don’t understand what you’re talking about”. Later, Johansson made a statement via his publicist and chess student Simon Stand.

– The whole case is ridiculous, begins Johansson.

In three days in April this year, he played 43 rapid chess games on Chess.com.

He admits to VG that he lost them all on purpose. The massive losing streak led the Swedish Chess Federation to open an investigation. It was suspected that he lost to manipulate his own rating.

With a lower rating, it would be possible to participate at a lower level in Sweden’s new chess league, the association believed. Johansson believes it is a “bizarre accusation”.

– I can understand why someone wants to cheat to appear better than they are, but according to the allegations, I have cheated to appear worse. What would be the motive for it? he asks.

According to the former chess president, he lost matches on purpose because he teaches amateur chess players.

– I used my own account for the purpose of teaching. I shouldn’t have done that, and I’ve apologized. That the false accusations keep coming confirms that it has nothing to do with the issue. But that it is about a power struggle in the Swedish Chess Federation, of which I was previously president, explains Johansson.

Before he sent his reply to VG, Johansson’s lawyer Johan Furhoff spoke on his behalf:

– This is not cheating in the same way as those who use data to win. He has been playing online. He has done it to lower the ranking, to play against beginners, which he has used when he teaches students, says the lawyer.

– Does he think it was done for educational purposes?

– Yes, and that explanation was accepted by the disciplinary committee, but not by those who sit in the union now.

Furhoff expresses that no one is affected by what Johansson has done, and that he himself has not benefited from it.

Today’s chess president in Sweden, Håkan Jalling, does not want to confirm any names in the case. Jalling states the following that one of those who was exposed believes he did it for educational reasons.

– We had a completely different opinion, and everyone has to judge whether they get educational benefit from it. Our experts have a different opinion, says Jalling, who points out that electronic traces are left behind and that they therefore had good evidence, he tells VG.

Only hours after the Swedish Chess Federation (SSF) had launched the news about the “Svenska Schackligan”, Johansson started his 43 games.

He accuses the Swedish association of “sandbagging” – a well-known term in chess where one reduces one’s rating in order to meet easier opposition.

Johansson, who has been up to 2300 in rating, plunged to below 800 – which allowed him to participate in the lowest of four divisions in the Swedish league, i.e. among the amateurs.

Johansson believes that there is no question of “sandbagging”, because he did not intend to take advantage of it or make money from it.

Johansson never used the account with the low rating in “Svenska Schackligan”, and that is the reason why he received a clearly lower punishment than the other two, who were banned from online games for two years.

The Swedish Chess Federation has discussed the cases on its website, but has anonymised Johansson, as well as two others who were caught using the same method.

A committee in the Swedish Chess Federation concluded that Johansson should be given a written warning and banned for two years as a referee, a role he also practices.

This decision was appealed by Johansson.

The Disciplinary and Rules Committee – the highest body in this type of case – concluded that Johansson should receive a written warning for breaching Fair Play rules. At the same time, they changed the decision on a two-year ban as a judge.

Instead, he also received a written warning as a judge.

The tribunal points out that Johansson’s motive for playing well below his playing strength is central to the assessment of the case. They believe that it cannot be proven, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Johansson has been guilty of “sandbagging” in order to participate in the “Svenska Schackligan”‘s lowest division.

The tribunal concludes that it is an undisputed fact that Johansson deliberately lost 43 games in a short time.

– There are three players who have been caught cheating online at Chess.com, and it happened this summer. They had manipulated their Chess.com rating, i.e. deliberately played poorly to lower the rating. Everyone had played their way down from high levels, from over 2000 to under 800, to be able to play in the lowest group, Håkan Jalling, president of the Swedish Chess Federation, tells VG.

As mentioned, he does not want to confirm any names, but is happy to comment on the matters.

– Everyone signed up for “Svenska Schackligan”, but one player never played in the actual competition. On the other hand, when the competition was over, he played one game. Then we believe that he has manipulated his rating, but also used it, says Jalling.

Confronted with Carl Fredrik Johansson claiming his case is about a power struggle in the union, Håkan Jalling replies:

– Carl Fredrik Johansson is the top manager of a club that targets children and young people. He was deposed as president of the Swedish Chess Federation already in 2018 after all the largest districts wanted his resignation. This case, which has nothing to do with his previous role in the association, is that he was caught cheating by deliberately losing 43 games in a row and thus manipulating his ranking. He has admitted this in our extensive investigation, although he states that it has happened for educational purposes.

– It appears clearly on his account on Chess.com where the games are available. Deliberately manipulating one’s ranking is a breach of fair play and something the Swedish Chess Federation clearly distances itself from. The fact that, according to his own statement, he lost the parties in the company of his students makes it even worse. Furthermore, this is not compatible with what we expect from a judge.