When Magnus Carlsen landed in Reykjavik on Monday to compete in the second official Fischer Random World Championship, journalists from the Norwegian television station NRK asked him about Hans Niemann’s case.
“I’m still focusing on chess,” Carlsen said. “No matter how things go, this will not be used as an excuse.”
Hikaru Nakamura was also asked about the case by NRK journalists, but did not comment. “I can’t comment on an ongoing lawsuit, sorry,” Nakamura said.
Controversy surrounding Hans Niemann made waves, invaded the chess world, and flared up once again with Niemann’s case.
At the Sinquefield Cup in September, Carlsen left the tournament after losing to Niemann in the third round. The World Champion did not make an official statement, but a tweet by Carlsen fueled speculation that Niemann may have cheated at the Sinquefield Cup.
In the Sinquefield Cup, the winner has to give an interview after the game, and in interviews after the first games, Niemann gave the impression that he was confused and did not fully understand his own games.
In an interview after the fifth-round draw with Leinier Dominguez, Niemann also admitted to cheating in online games when he was twelve and sixteen.
A few days after the Sinquefield Cup, Carlsen and Niemann reunited at the Play Magnus Group online tournament, the Julius Bär Generation Cup. Carlsen refused to play against Niemann and resigned after a 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4. After the tournament, he made a statement claiming that Niemann cheated in online games more often than Niemann admitted. Carlsen also brought up the name of US grandmaster and coach Max Dlugy.
Chess.com later published a lengthy statement with many statistics showing that Niemann cheated in more than 100 online games, including games played in money tournaments. The document also included statistics showing that Niemann’s development and success in the game was also extraordinary.
In October, after the end of the US Championship featuring Niemann, Niemann sued Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Chess.com CEO Daniel Rensch and the companies Chess.com and Play Magnus Group for defamation, defamation, illegal boycott and wrongdoing. . At least US$100 million intervention in Niemann’s business.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Magnus Carlsen’s attorney, Craig Reiser, said of Niemann’s accusations:Hans Niemann has a history of cheating and his case is nothing more than an attempt to pin the blame on others. Their legal claims are baseless and we will defend them vigorously.”
Icelandic Grandmaster Hjörvar Gretarsson, a lawyer by profession and playing as the organizer’s representative at the Fischer Random World Championship, described Niemann’s lawsuit against NRK as “stupid”: “This high demand is meaningless. Gretarsson told NRK “He says lawyers like to demand big sums. Niemann wants compensation, which makes sense. But it doesn’t make sense for him to claim he lost $100 million.”
Gretarsson doesn’t believe Niemann will win the case, but says, “It’s going to be interesting. I hope it gets resolved soon.”
Interestingly, at the Reykjavik Open 2022 in April, Gretarsson played against Niemann in the 5th round, losing a match in which Niemann apparently made no mistakes.
“I had the same feelings as Carlsen. I thought he wasn’t focused and opened the position. He played fast when it got complicated. At first I thought he was overly talented. But then when I looked at the game, I thought about cheating. But I still assumed he wasn’t cheating because I didn’t have proof. It’s not fair to accuse him of cheating.”
Special security measures will be taken at the Fischer Random World Championship. The matches will be broadcast live on Norwegian television, but the signal will be delayed.
“This is crazy,” said Wesley So, who was the defending champion at the Fischer Random World Championship. “We all know each other very well here. Cheating comes with a high risk. Because then your reputation will be ruined and your career will be over. Niemann turned 19, no one knew him before. Carlsen saw something was wrong with the Sinquefield Cup. And he withdrew from the tournament. I respect that very much.”
Translation from German: Johannes Fischer
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