Your Voice: ‘Time zone cheating’ rocks the IB world; chess is rising in popularity (long letters)

This year, the world saw the International Baccalaureate’s (IB) largest “time zone leak” scandal in 55 years. A series of leaked maths papers were reported in the first week of May. According to Business Today, several questions also leaked from business management, global politics, physics, computer science, biology, and chemistry papers in the same manner.

Allegedly, students had tactically misused different time zones to “recreate” the paper with content they recalled from the test, as the Free Press Journal described. While statements from the IB say the leak was not widespread, several student forums on websites, including The Student Room and Reddit, would suggest that these papers accumulated over 10,000 downloads from Reddit alone.

The IB curriculum is an internationally recognised qualification for entry into higher education. Founded in Switzerland in the late 1960s, it has earned itself a reputation of prestige and rigour. Every year, students who appear for the same papers across three time zones take the IB exams. The regions are divided into zone A (Australia and Asia), zone B (Africa and Europe) and zone C (North and South America).

As stipulated by the IB Academic Integrity Policy, time zone cheating occurs when students who have completed their papers share what they can recall from memory about the exam questions on social media before other students take the paper. The policy further emphasises that it is “explicitly forbidden.”

While IB officials will ensure formal investigations are to be held and that those engaging in this malpractice will be penalised accordingly, a broader fear of skewed grade boundaries and downgraded results still looms over students.

International Baccalaureate examination authority to investigate leak, cheating

An anonymous IB student at ELCHK Lutheran Academy, who has poured countless hours into his studies, has voiced his own frustration and contentions regarding the unclear course of action the IB will take. He states, “I worked so hard this term. It just feels like all of the effort I put in would go down the drain if we were to resit, or if they raised the grade boundaries, and the students who stayed honest would have no say in any of it.”

Academic integrity, a cornerstone of education, seems to have become a dilemma in which one must be assumed guilty before proven innocent, a situation that undermines the very essence of learning and fairness.

Since May 2, thousands of students have signed the “Justice for all M24 IBDP students” petition. The petition calls for the exams to be cancelled, or resat or for those who took the papers honestly to be continuously accounted for. “There is no point in using backup exams as it is speculated that many students have reaped the benefits of the leaked papers,” a user named Aviral Persona writes in the petition’s description. The statement says, “which will naturally push the average score and increase the grade boundaries, again causing those who maintained academic honesty to suffer greatly.”

The results for this round of exams, which students have been anxiously awaiting, will be released officially on July 5, 2024. What actions are to take place before then, and how these results will be affected by the academic misconduct of others, remain a mystery to students across the world, adding to their already heightened sense of uncertainty.

Jonathan Su, German Swiss International School

The internet has opened the doors for chess enthusiasts, enabling the game’s popularity to explode. The World Chess Championship stands as a pinnacle event, showcasing the best players in intense competition.

At the end of 2022, eight titans in the chess world gathered to play in the Candidates Tournament selection. They were vying for the opportunity to challenge Magnus Carlsen, the undefeated five-time Classical World Chess Champion. When the dust settled, Ian Nepomniachtchi, a Russian Grandmaster, emerged undefeated after 14 games. Just as Nepomniachtchi secured his victory, the chess world was rocked by Magnus Carlsen’s unexpected announcement that he would not defend his crown. This twist of events left the International Chess Federation (FIDE) with no choice but to pair Ding Liren, the runner-up in the Candidates Tournament selection, against Nepomniachtchi, setting the stage for an unpredictable showdown.

Ding, born in Wenzhou, China 1992, has made significant strides in chess. His exceptional skill was exemplified by an astonishing unbeaten streak of 100 games in classical chess. Moreover, he holds the accolade of being the highest-rated Chinese chess player in history and a three-time Chinese Chess Champion.

That Ding even made it to the Candidates Tournament was a testament to his determination and resilience. Despite facing considerable challenges due to China’s travel restrictions amid the pandemic, Ding managed to overcome the odds and secure a spot. His journey to the tournament was a true underdog story, making him the first Chinese player to compete in the Candidates Tournament.

After the first game against Nepomniachtchi, Ding expressed his feelings, saying, “I’m not happy, not unhappy, I feel a little bit depressed ... my mind was very strange, many memories, feelings, maybe there is something wrong with my mind.”

After struggling to cope with the mounting pressure, he lost the next game but eventually regained his cool after a few games. Although Nepomniachtchi took the lead on three occasions during the match, Ding managed to secure a win.

Ding holds a special place in the history of Chinese chess, being the first genuinely elite player to emerge from the country. In the final round of the highly anticipated 2024 Candidates Tournament, Gukesh Dommaraju, a remarkably talented 17-year-old Indian Grandmaster, emerged victorious, becoming the youngest player ever to win the Candidates Tournament. The chess world is now buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming battle between Ding and Dommaraju. The match promises to be a spectacle of skill, strategy, and determination.