Preparation has changed completely
Where players once prepared openings from books and personal notes, modern preparation runs through searchable game databases and engine analysis that can evaluate a position in seconds. This has raised the baseline of opening knowledge at every level, from club players researching an opponent's habits to titled players preparing for norm-chasing games.
What this means for anti-cheating measures
The same engine strength that helps preparation is exactly why modern tournaments — including our Festival — run strict phone-free playing halls, metal detection at entry, and delayed broadcast for top boards. Fair play protocols have had to become as sophisticated as the technology they're designed to guard against.
Broadcasting and spectatorship
Live, move-by-move broadcasting with engine evaluation bars has turned top-board games into something spectators anywhere can follow in real time, which has quietly reshaped how open tournaments think about their top boards — not just as games to be played, but as content to be watched.
Where the balance sits today
None of this replaces the core skill of calculating and evaluating a position at the board under a clock — engines are a preparation and analysis tool, not a substitute for the game itself. Most strong trainers, including our own training department, still emphasise unaided calculation practice as the foundation, with engine analysis used afterward to check and deepen that work.