Hans Niemann announced Thursday that he has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Magnus Carlsen and chess.com for allegedly making defamatory statements about the 19-year-old chess grandmaster cheating in competitions.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, claims the defendants committed “malicious defamation and unlawful collusion” in alleging Niemann had cheated.
CHESS WEBSITE FINDS HANS NIEMANN LIKELY CHEATED ‘MUCH MORE’ THAN HE PUBLICLY ADMITTED
“As a result of this shocking defeat, Carlsen snapped. Unable to accept the reality of his unexpected loss, Carlsen reflexively retaliated by defaming Niemann to Michael Khodarkovsky, the Executive Director of the Grand Chess Tour, falsely accusing Niemann of cheating during their game and demanding that Niemann be immediately disqualified,” the lawsuit alleges.
In the lawsuit, Niemann also calls the report chess.com issued regarding his alleged cheating “a false and malicious hatchet-job” and says Niemann never confessed to cheating on a 2020 call.
Niemann posted a copy of the lawsuit on Twitter, saying simply, “My lawsuit speaks for itself.”
My lawsuit speaks for itself https://t.co/rOfUxiNYCH
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) October 20, 2022
Chess.com lawyers Nima Mohebbi and Jamie Wine told the Washington Examiner in a statement that they are “saddened” by the lawsuit.
“We are saddened by Hans Niemann’s decision to take legal action against Chess.com. We believe his lawsuit hurts the game of chess and its devoted players and fans around the world. Chess.com is proud of its reputation within the chess community and beyond, and will always defend the game, the players, and their mission of both growing and protecting online chess. Hans confessed publicly to cheating online in the wake of the Sinquefield Cup, and the resulting fallout is of his own making. As stated in its October 2022 report, Chess.com had historically dealt with Hans’ prior cheating privately, and was forced to clarify its position only after he spoke out publicly. There is no merit to Hans’ allegations, and Chess.com looks forward to setting the record straight on behalf of its team and all honest chess players,” their statement said.
Niemann is seeking $100 million in damages from the defendants for the alleged defamation against him.
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The Washington Examiner has reached out to Magnus Carlsen for comment.
