 "While Kirill Shevchenko will not be eligible to return to action until 18 October, 2026 after being slapped with a three-year ban with one year suspended, he will get to keep his Grandmaster title. Image credit: FIDE/Lennart Ootes")
Romanian Grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko has been handed a three-year worldwide ban by FIDE with one year suspended for cheating during the Spanish Team Championship last October. Shevchenko had confessed to hiding a mobile phone in the toilet and using it during his games in the event that had taken place in Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast. The 22-year-old, however, has denied using the phone to cheat with an engine.
As a result of the discovery, his draws in the first two rounds were turned into defeats. Shevchenko had raised suspicion for his frequent visits to the toilet during his games, and it was during his second-round meeting with GM Francisco Vallejo that the arbiter decided to get the cubicle that the Ukrainian-born GM had been visiting, where a locked mobile phone was found along with a hand-written note.
World governing body FIDE announced that Shevchenko was guilty of breaching Article 11.7(e) of the FIDE Disciplinary Code. As per the decision by the EDC Chamber, he can return to play on 18 October, 2026. However, the sanction’s suspended portion that extends to 2027 will be activated if he is found guilty of cheating again.
While involvement in cheating usually leads to a player losing his/her Grandmaster title, Shevchenko will get to keep the title for now in a rare exception.
Shevchenko, ranked 75th in the world, thus becomes the most high-profile player to be suspended for cheating by FIDE. American Grandmaster Hans Niemann had been involved in an even bigger cheating scandal during his meeting with world No 1 Magnus Carlsen in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup. Niemann, however, flatly denied Carlsen’s accusation of cheating during their game and didn’t receive any suspension, either by the tournament organisers or by FIDE.
Who is Grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko?
Shevchenko, born in Ukrainian capital Kyiv, had earned his Grandmaster title at the age of 14 years and 10 months in 2017, a year after earning his International Master title. He currently ranks 75th in the world and second in Romania with a rating of 2653.
Among the biggest achievements of Shevchenko’s career is winning Lindores Abbey Blitz in Latvia in 2021, where he beat top-rated players such as Fabiano Caruana and India’s Arjun Erigaisi to the title. A month later, he would be part of the Ukrainian team that won gold at the European Team Chess Championship.
Six years after acquiring his GM status, Shevchenko switched his allegiance to Romania and has been representing them ever since.