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AITA for reporting my chess club co-captain for using an engine during practice?

Marcus (17M) and I (17M) have co-captained our high school chess club for two years. He's one of my closest friends outside chess too. Last month his practice game accuracy against me jumped to near engine-level overnight, no explainable improvement, and I caught him glancing at his phone under the table during a "casual" match before regionals. I said nothing for two weeks because I wasn't sure and didn't want to blow up something on a hunch. Then he won our internal qualifier for the one open seat at state, beating a stronger player with the exact engine line I'd seen in an analysis app earlier that week. I told our advisor what I saw. She checked his phone with his permission and found the chess app open during match times. He got pulled from state. Now half the club won't talk to me, the group chat is calling me a sore loser who couldn't handle losing my spot, and Marcus hasn't spoken to me since. His parents are furious too, they said his college apps needed that result. I keep thinking I should have just asked him directly first instead of going to the advisor. But I also don't know how you calmly ask a friend if he's cheating.

#aita#school#chess

anonymous ask · Aug 22, 2026 · 248 votes · 3 comments

Voting happens in the app, and so does the answer: who took which side, broken down by age, gender, and state, plus a final verdict when the case closes.

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@rogerk_drives

seen guys cut corners their whole life... catches up eventually. you just sped up the clock. not your fault

@peggy_hospicehope

Honesty costs friendships sometimes, but integrity is worth more than comfort. You did the right thing.

@nina_thrifts

ngl cheating is cheating, doesn't matter if he's your bestie 💀 NTA

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