Updated: Dec. 28, 2006, 3:20 PM ET
An Indian chess player has been banned for 10 years for cheating after he was caught using his mobile phone's wireless device to win games, chess officials said on Wednesday.
The player, Umakant Sharma, had logged rating points at a rapid pace in the last 18 months and also qualified for the national championship, arousing the suspicion of officials and bemusing rivals.
Mr. Sharma was finally caught at a recent tournament when officials discovered that he had stitched a Bluetooth device in a cloth cap which he always pulled over his ears.
He communicated to his accomplices outside the hall, who then used a computer to relay moves to him, Indian chess federation secretary D.V. Sundar said on Wednesday.
"We have banned him for 10 years," he told Reuters. "We wanted to send a clear message to such people."
Chess officials were also probing whether another player had similar advantages through such illegal means, he added.
http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=2710555
Its nice to see the art of cheating at chess hasn't died.
Numero Dos
Wed Dec 27, 7:55 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A 21-year-old German woman who did not feel like going to work at a fast food restaurant sent her parents a text message saying she had been kidnapped.
Police in the Bavarian town of Straubing said Wednesday they had launched a massive search throughout the region for the woman who disappeared on December 23 but turned up unscathed the following morning, saying the kidnapper had set her free.
A spokesman said the woman was questioned over the Christmas holiday and admitted she made up the story because she owed a colleague 25 euros ($32.9) and did not have the money to pay her debt. She now faces a fine of up to 1,000 euros.
http://news.yahoo.co...x_kidnapping_dc
Man, what happened to just saying you have a cold?