A bizarre controversy has taken over the world of professional chess and thrust it into the mainstream, centered on accusations of cheating and a sex toy.
Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, the world No. 1, abruptly left his online match against American Hans Niemann at the Julius Baer Generation Cup Monday after only one move. Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup, an event in St. Louis, Missouri, a week earlier after losing to Niemann.
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Another shocker as @MagnusCarlsen simply resigns on move 2 vs. @HansMokeNiemann! https://t.co/2fpx8lplTI#ChessChamps #JuliusBaerGenerationCup pic.twitter.com/5PO7kdZFOZ
— chess24.com (@chess24com) September 19, 2022
Niemann has admitted to cheating in his youth, leading to a ban from chess.com, per a report from Reuters, but denies cheating since in any major tournaments.
When Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup, he tweeted a video of soccer manager Jose Mourinho after a 2014 game saying, “I prefer not to speak. If I speak, I am in big trouble, and I don’t want to be in trouble.”
I’ve withdrawn from the tournament. I’ve always enjoyed playing in the @STLChessClub, and hope to be back in the future https://t.co/YFSpl8er3u
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) September 5, 2022
Carlsen refused to say what the reason for withdrawing from the match Monday was in an interview on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, I cannot particularly speak on that. People can draw their own conclusions, and they certainly have,” Carlsen said. “I have to say I’m very impressed by Niemann’s play, and I think his mentor, Maxim Dlugy, must be doing a great job.”
When directly asked if it was due to cheating allegations related to Niemann, he declined to comment.
The most bizarre theory from a user on Reddit alleges that Niemann cheated in the Sinquefield Cup by using the vibrations of a wireless sex toy to dictate his next move. That wild theory alleges Carlsen himself came up with the ploy but Niemann subsequently stole the technique from him, hence why Carlsen can’t actually say what’s going on.
There is no solid evidence to support these theories, but it has not stopped them from spreading around the internet like wildfire.
Niemann has admitted to cheating in random games on chess.com when he was younger to boost his rating but said he was confronted about it and admitted to it. In an interview during the Sinquefield Cup, he called it the “greatest mistake of my life.”
Seperate video: https://t.co/bWwemsYtya
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) September 6, 2022
He also said he has never cheated in an over-the-board game of chess or in a tournament with prize money.
“I’m not going to let chess.com, I’m not going to let Magnus Carlsen, I’m not going to let Hikaru Nakamura — the three arguably biggest entities in chess — simply slander my reputation,” Niemann said in the interview.
The Sinquefield Cup backed up Niemann against the allegations, saying there was “no indication that any player has been playing unfairly.”
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With Carlsen’s latest withdrawal, the rumors against Niemann have only grown in volume.
