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This week we are joined by the economist, award-winning author, and top Australian player, GM David Smerdon. David is a professor at the University of Queensland. With a statistical background, David is a particular expert in the intersection of statistics and chess and is frequently able to combine his chess expertise with his academic research. Since chess cheating has been in the news again, we begin by getting David\u2019s thoughts on the renewed allegations against GM Hans Niemann, as well as the recent concerns about rampant online cheating voiced by GM Vladimir Kramnik. David drew some interesting comparisons between these cheating scandals and a recent one in the academic world. David also had some recently published chess research to discuss, as he and a team of collaborators have recently launched the \u201cGender Equality in Chess Index. (GECI)\u201d What is the goal of his index and how did they arrive at the numbers?\xa0 Lastly, we catch up on David\u2019s chess career. As David details, he doesn\u2019t have a ton of time to study, but is competing when he can with a specific goal in mind. There is always lots to learn from GM Smerdon, and it was a pleasure to catch up with him Timestamps of topics discussed are below. \n\nThanks to our presenting chess education sponsors, Chessable.com! Help support Perpetual Chess by signing up for Chessable pro using this link:\nhttps://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro\n\n0:00- Intro\nMentioned: Tarjei\u2019s Svensen\u2019s article, Dojo Talks EP 101\xa0with GM Vladmir Kramnik\xa0\n0:02- David discusses cheating in the chess world, and draws parallels to some scandals in the academic world.\nMentioned: Did an honesty researcher fabricate data?, GM Alex Fishbein\xa0\n\n10:00- Has any good come of the recent chess cheating scandals?\xa0\nMentioned: GM Mamedyarov withdraws from 2018 tournament after accusing opponent of cheating, Hans Niemann competes in London Chess Classic after stunning result in Zagreb\xa0\n17:00- Chess.com statement regarding Kramnik allegations against Nakamura\xa0\n23:00- Do continued allegations against Niemann cause concern about the viability of the future of OTB chess?\xa0\nMentioned: Poker pro alleged to have used special contact lenses to see through a deck\xa0\n26:30- Can statistics help detect \u201csmart cheating\u201d?\n29:00 What was the genesis of the idea for a \u201cchess gender index\u201d?\xa0\nMentioned: Mongolia Tops Chess Gender Index by Leon Watson\xa0\n34:00- Did Queen of Katwe likely contribute to the success of women\u2019s chess in Uganda?What did he notice about other high ranking countries?\xa0\n41:00- What are the components of the index?\xa0\n51:00- David discusses his other chess-related research\n52:00- How is David\u2019s chess game, and what is his current chess goal?\xa0\nMentioned: Episode 30, The Complete Chess Swindler\xa0\nThanks to David for joining me again, here are links to keep up with him:\n\nX: https://twitter.com/dsmerdon\n\nDavid\u2019s Blog;\nhttps://www.davidsmerdon.com/\n\xa0\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices