This time, the accusations are clear and direct. The five-time world chess champion Magnus Carlsen published a tweet on the evening of September 26 in which he openly accused the American player Hans Niemann, aged 19 and 49e player in the classification of the international federation, of cheating.
My statement regarding the last few weeks. https://t.co/KY34DbcjLo
“I believe Niemann has cheated more, and more recently than he has publicly admitted, writes the 31-year-old Norwegian in a press release published on the social network. His head-to-head progression is unusual and, throughout our game at the Sinquefield Cup [au début de septembre aux Etats-Unis]I felt like he wasn’t even stressed or fully focused on the game.” Magnus Carlsen also adds that he does not “don’t want to play against people who have cheated several times in the past”.
Since the beginning of the month, the world of chess has been in turmoil. On September 4, the Norwegian surprisingly withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup after a loss against Hans Niemann. In a tweet already full of innuendo, Magnus Carlsen immediately posted a video from 2014 of José Mourinho, then head of the English football team Chelsea. “I don’t prefer to talk. If I talk, I’m going to be in big trouble.”said the Portuguese coach in an interview, after a match – lost – from which he had been excluded.
I’ve withdrawn from the tournament. I’ve always enjoyed playing in the @STLChessClub, and hope to be back in the fu… https://t.co/M9f6ru9ebT
Second act Monday, September 19. While playing an online game against the young American in the Julius Baer Generation Cup, Magnus Carlsen this time abruptly turned off his webcam, without a word, in front of commentators and dumbfounded spectators.
Ready to “play naked”
Hans Niemann, who is experiencing a meteoric rise, drags, it is true, a somewhat sulphurous reputation in the world of chess. He admitted to having cheated at age 12 and 16 during online games, using a computer. This gap in youth earned him banishment by Chess.com, the leading online chess platform. The young prodigy, however, assures that he never cheated during a face-to-face game, even saying he was ready to “play naked” to prove his good faith.
Why naked? Because speculation on how he would cheat, thanks to external technological aid, is rife: undetectable earpiece, subcutaneous implant and even, the most unlikely hypothesis, the use of a connected anal plug which would allow him, on impulse, to be “remotely guided” by a third person himself assisted by a computer…
Since then, game experts no longer know where to turn. In The Team, French player Yosha Iglesias believes ” impossible “ to obtain formal proof of cheating. “This is an unprecedented case”, commented the Dutch player Anish Giri. At the microphone of the Norwegian channel TV2, Jon Ludvig Hammer, consultant and high-level player, deplored “a completely unacceptable attitude [de la part de Carlsen] to deliberately lose.
For his part, in his angry press release of September 26, Magnus Carlsen, who hopes that “the truth about this case, whatever it is, will come out”called on the discipline to strengthen its security measures and detection of cheating.