The chess cheating scandal that has been brewing since September has just flared up again. Hans Niemann, the 19-year-old chess grandmaster, sued world champion Magnus Carlsen and others for $100 million in damages.
That Defamation lawsuit claims that Chess.com, a popular online platform where players compete in tournaments, worked with Carlsen and Play Magnus to ban Niemann from the site and future events to “give credence to Carlsen’s baseless and defamatory cheating allegations.” . (In August, Play Magnus, Carlsen’s popular chess app, accepted a takeover bid from Chess.com for $83 million. The lawsuit says this merger “will monopolize the chess world.”) It also alleges that Hikaru Nakamura, Chess.com streaming partner’s popular chess app colluded with Carlsen and Chess.com over “video content” supporting cheating allegations. The lawsuit also alleges that Chess.com Chief Chess Officer Danny Rensch issued “defamatory press releases.”
These actions “devastated Niemann’s distinguished career in its prime and ruined his life,” according to the federal lawsuit. “Chess is Niemann’s life.”
“My lawsuit speaks for itself,” Niemann tweeted on Thursday.
Polygon has emailed Magnus Carlsen’s manager, as well as the Chief Executive Officer of the Play Magnus Group of Companies and Hikaru Nakamura’s WME agents, but have not yet received a response.
Chess.com attorneys Nima Mohebbi and Jamie Wine of Latham & Watkins, LLP provided Polygon with an email statement:
We regret Hans Niemann’s decision to take legal action against Chess.com. We believe his lawsuit is damaging to the game of chess and its loyal players and fans around the world.
Chess.com is proud of its solid reputation within the chess community and beyond, and will always defend the game, the players and their mission to promote and protect online chess.
Hans has publicly admitted to cheating online after the Sinquefield Cup and the resulting consequences are of his own making. As stated in its October 2022 report, Chess.com had privately addressed Hans’ previous cheating in the past and was forced to clarify his position only after he spoke out publicly.
Hans’ allegations are unfounded and Chess.com looks forward to setting the record straight on behalf of his team and all honest chess players.
The chess cheating saga began in September when Niemann defeated Carlsen in a match at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis. Carlsen abruptly withdrew from the tournament, but gave no reasons why. Later that month he made just one move against Niemann at the Julius Baer Generation Cup before turning off his camera and resigning. On September 26, Carlsen tweeted an official statement saying he believed Niemann cheated. Carlsen offered no evidence but said he felt Niemann “wasn’t tense in critical positions or even fully focused on the game.”
“Famed for his inability to deal with defeat, Carlsen freaked out,” says the complaint about Carlsen’s behavior after the Sinquefield Cup. “Furious that young Niemann, a full 12 years his junior, dared to disregard the ‘King of Chess’ and feared that the young prodigy would further soil his multi-million dollar mark by beating him again, took revenge Carlsen viciously and maliciously against Niemann.”
Niemann was not caught cheating in an over-the-board match (a match that took place physically rather than online). However, He admitted to cheating in two Chess.com matches – once when he was 12 and once when he was 16. In the same interview, he denied ever having cheated at the board games. In the same video, he even offers to play naked to prove he’s not cheating – an offer that led to that weird claim he used anal beads to cheat. (The lawsuit states that the Sinquefield Cup’s anti-cheat measures were expanded to include “military-grade metal detection scans.”)
Chess.com, on the other hand banned Niemann from his platform on September 8th, tweeted an official explanation of why. And early October, the Wall Street Journal reported that a Chess.com investigation found that Niemann violated “fair play” more than he let on, explaining that his cheating spanned more than 100 games.
The lawsuit alleges that Chess.com’s testimony was “false” and intended to “further defame Niemann” by accusing him of being a “liar,” in addition to saying he was a “Series Online -cheat”. The lawsuit also says that “conspiracy theories” were “going viral” on the internet and that Niemann missed opportunities due to “slanderous allegations”, including the Tata Steel Chess Tournament “cut off all contact” and teenage grandmaster Vincent Keymer “refused to play” in a match against Niemann.
