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Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen accuses Grandmaster Hans Niemann of cheating

Magnus Carlsen is the reigning world chess champion. Last week, he faced off against Hans Niemann and withdrew just after a move before later accusing him of cheating. Here's his side of the story.

Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen accuses Grandmaster Hans Niemann of cheating-ayh
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First Published Sep 27, 2022, 3:40 PM IST

Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway has accused fellow Grandmaster Hans Niemann of the United States of America (USA) of cheating "more and more" than he has already admitted. The former also stated that he would not play against any rival who indulges in such misconduct. On late Monday night, Carlsen released a statement, nearly a week after he withdrew against the American after having played just a move during the 2022 Julius Baer Generation Cup that was virtually played online. The 31-year-old Norwegian had also quit the 2022 Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis after his astonishing drubbing against Niemann.

"I believe that Niemann has cheated more and more recently than he has publicly admitted. His over-the-board progress has been unusual. Throughout our game in the Sinquefield Cup, I had the impression that he wasn't tense or fully concentrating on the game in critical positions while outplaying me as black in a way think only a handful of players can do. This game contributed to changing my perspective," Carlsen composed.

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Niemann had formerly revealed having cheated twice online on Chess.com when he was 12 and later as a 16-year-old. However, he has declined ever having cheated over the board. "I believe that cheating in chess is a big deal and an existential threat to the game, and chess organisers and all those who care about the sanctity of the game we love should seriously consider increasing security measures and methods of cheat detection for over the board chess," Carlsen penned.

The world champion described his unwillingness to play against Niemann or any other player who engages in cheating. "We must do something about cheating, and for my part going forward, I don't want to play against people that have cheated repeatedly because they don't know what they can do in the future," he further authored.

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However, Carlsen failed to offer evidence about how the 19-year-old could have cheated over the board when they played face to face. "There is more that I would like to say. Unfortunately, at this time, I am limited in what I can say without explicit permission from Niemann to speak openly. So far, I have only been able to speak with my actions, clearly stating that I am unwilling to play chess with Niemann. Hope that the truth on this matter comes out, whatever it may be," he concluded.

(With inputs from PTI)

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