Chess Champion Carlsen Accuses Rival Niemann of Cheating
On Monday, Norwegian world chess champion Magnus Carlsen publicly accused American Hans Niemann of cheating, marking the first time he explicitly alleged any wrongdoing by the 19-year-old. He questioned Niemann’s “unusual” rise over the past year and his “suspicious” mannerisms.
Facts
- On Monday, Norwegian world chess champion Magnus Carlsen publicly accused American Hans Niemann of cheating, marking the first time he explicitly alleged any wrongdoing by the 19-year-old. He questioned Niemann’s “unusual” rise over the past year and his “suspicious” mannerisms.
- This scandal began earlier this month after Carlsen lost to Niemann at the Sinquefield Cup, ending a 53-game unbeaten streak. After quitting the tournament, Carlsen made vague accusations that he believes “cheating in chess is a big deal” and should be “dealt with seriously.”
- Niemann has admitted to cheating in online matches — at ages 12 and 16 — but says he is now “clean” and the accusations against him are an attempt to ruin his career. Due to his past, Chess.com banned him from its events.
- In a social media statement on Monday, Carlsen said, “I believe that Niemann has cheated more -and more recently- than he has publicly admitted.” He added, “his over board progress has been unusual, and throughout our game, in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he wasn’t tense or even fully concentrating.”
- With the feud ongoing, Carlsen has said that he is “not willing to play chess with Niemann,” and resigned in protest from his recent match against him at the Julius Baer Generation Cup.
- The International Chess Federation (FIDE) said it disagreed with Carlsen’s decision to resign, but acknowledged the need to fight to cheat. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Nigel Short, the only British player to compete in the world championships, said: “there was no evidence Niemann cheated in his victory over Carlsen.”
Sources: Guardian, BBC News, Wall Street Journal, and FOX News.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Chess. While Niemann has a checkered past, the idea that he’s been able to cheat in the highly-scrutinized world of professional chess is far-fetched. With every player being screened and every game being supervised, no one has found evidence of cheating. It seems that Carlsen is simply upset that he’s now lost to the 19-year-old multiple times.
- Narrative B, as provided by KALW. With Niemann’s history of cheating, coupled with accusations against him from the world №1, it’s time the International Chess Federation investigate the matter and finally put it to rest. Whether it finds Niemann guilty or not, his admitted history of cheating should put him under the microscope until the investigation is over.
