Reckless or manifestly unfounded cheating accusation

A reckless or manifestly unfounded cheating accusation attributes serious misconduct without acceptable grounds for reasonable suspicion. It may be made publicly or privately. The rule protects people and investigations from damaging claims driven mainly by emotion, rivalry, or speculation.

Not every report that ends without a sanction is unfounded. Someone may submit concrete observations in good faith that justified review even though the later evidence did not establish cheating. The relevant question is whether a reasonable basis existed when the allegation was made, not whether the report ultimately produced a conviction.

FIDE permits a player or captain to report a concern privately to the arbiter or anti-cheating official during the event so that the situation can be monitored. Publicly accusing someone only because they played above their rating, the numerical estimate of playing strength, or circulating an uninterpreted Fair Play software alert, may lack sufficient grounds. Assumed cheating has its own statistical and procedural requirements and does not arise from informal commentary.