World chess champion Magnus Carlsen accused American Hans Niemann of cheating. The Norwegian announced this on Monday on his Twitter account.
Carlsen didn’t finish the Grand Chess Tour stage in American St. Louis after losing to Niemann in the third round. The 19-year-old American broke the world champion’s 53-game unbeaten streak. The decision to withdraw from the tournament, the Norwegian accompanied the publication of an excerpt from an interview with football coach Jose Mourinho, in which he refused to voice his thoughts, because it threatens him with “big trouble”. Experts suggested that in this way Carlsen alludes to Niemann’s dishonest play, who used computer prompts while playing on the world’s most popular chess portal as a child. On September 19, at the Julius Baer Generation Cup online tournament, Carlsen faced Niemann again and resigned after the second move.
“I believe that cheating in chess is a very serious matter and a big threat to the game,” said Carlsen. “I also believe that the organizers and everyone who cares about the integrity of our beloved game should seriously think about strengthening security measures and methods for detecting cheating at the chessboard. When Niemann was invited to the Grand Chess Tour at the last moment, I thought about withdrawing from the tournament, but decided to play.”
“I think that Niemann cheated more often, and more often lately, than he spoke. His progress is unusual, and during our game I got the impression that he was not tense or even completely focused on playing in critical situations, when he rebuffed me with black pieces in a way that only some chess players can. This game changed my point of view,” said Carlsen.
The Norwegian chess player has declared that he will no longer play with Niemann. “We have to do something about cheating, and I personally don’t want to play opponents who have cheated many times in the past because I don’t know what they are capable of in the future. Now I am limited in my statements, since Niemann did not give me permission to speak openly, I can only speak about my actions, and I no longer want to play with Niemann. I hope the truth in this case will become known, whatever it may be,” Carlsen concluded.
