The one rule
Play your own moves. No engine, no analysis tool, no second screen, no friend suggesting moves, during any staked game. That is the whole rule. Everything below is how it is enforced.
Stockfish reviews every game it loses
Before a win against Stockfish is paid, Stockfish replays the game and scores every one of the winner's moves. People make mistakes, even very strong people. Engines do not, and the difference is easy to see. A fair win is paid within a minute.
A game played with engine help forfeits its stake. It is recorded as a win for Stockfish, it mines no CHESS, and that wallet can never bet against Stockfish again. The verdict is automatic and final: nobody at AlgoChess decides it by hand, in either direction.
Every staked game is analysed
Duels between players and games against Stockfish alike are analysed after they end, move by move. Play that stays engine-like over time closes an account to new staked games. Money already settled always follows the contract.
The big odds are earned
Against Stockfish, the ×10 long shot opens after your first 10 staked games. Until then you are offered the nearer level, at up to ×3. New accounts also start with smaller stakes, and the limit grows as you play. A fresh wallet has nothing to gain from a lucky night, and a regular player loses nothing.
Full-strength Stockfish, level 8, is free practice only. Nobody beats it fairly, so it is never played for money.
One person, one player
Opening more wallets does not open more room. Wallets that clearly belong together are treated as one player, and there are daily limits on what any player, and Stockfish's reserve as a whole, can stake.
What stays public, and what does not
The rules are public: they are on this page. The payouts are public: every one is a transaction on Algorand. The odds are fixed by the contract the moment you sign, so nothing can move them while you play.
The exact measurements behind the review stay private. Publishing them would only tell a cheater how to hide. If you play your own moves, none of them will ever concern you.
If something looks wrong
If you think an opponent used help, you do not need to report it: every staked game is already analysed. Questions about your own games are answered in the FAQ.