Can a checksum be used to prevent piracy?

Question

Can using the checksum of a file somehow prevent (hinder) piracy? Perhaps I could calculate the checksum of my final exe and then at random intervals, have the exe check the checksum of itself, to ensure that it hasn't been tampered with?

EDIT:

I guess I was a bit naive with my original question. There is a link to an interview with a cracker here: http://successfulsoftware.net/2011/04/07/interview-with-a-cracker/

" What are the commonest mistakes software developers make related to security?

In no particular order:

Not integrity checking against patching. "

So how would I implement the cracker's suggestion?