It is the biggest scandal in recent chess history. World champion Magnus Carlsen meets the only 19-year-old Hans Niemann in two games. The 31-year-old loses once and gives up the next game after just one move. The elephant in the room? Fraud. Carlsen is now making his allegations official.
World chess champion Magnus Carlsen has spoken at length about his withdrawal in a duel with Hans Niemann and accused the American of cheating. In essence, Carlsen confirms reports over the past few weeks that Niemann allegedly cheated in the game against him.
He is currently not allowed to say anything more specific, even if he would like to go into more detail, the 31-year-old Norwegian wrote on Twitter on Monday. “I hope the truth will come out, whatever it may be.”
According to Carlsen, he believes “that Niemann cheated more (…) than he publicly admitted.” However, there is no evidence that the 19-year-old grandmaster Niemann cheated.
Carlsen wrote: “We must do something about cheating in chess. I will contribute to this by not playing against players who have cheated in the past, as I cannot be sure what such players will do in the future .”
At the beginning of September, the first incident between the counterparties occurred. At the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, the superstar surprisingly lost to Niemann and withdrew from a tournament for the first time in his career. The 31-year-old Norwegian did not give any reasons at the time.
The chess scene interpreted Carlsen’s exit as an allegation of fraud against Niemann. The American admitted in an interview during the Sinquefield Cup that he had cheated twice in online games as a teenager, aged 12 and 16, but never in person at the chessboard.
Carlsen now opined that Niemann’s progress in on-site games was unusual. “During our game at the Sinquefield Cup, I got the impression that he wasn’t fully focused and focused on the game at the crucial moments, while he was dominating me with the black pieces in a way that only a small group of people could believe The Sinquefield Cup game helped change my perspective on the subject,” said Carlsen.
