Hans Niemann is an American teenager who was a prodigy in chess. The Norwegian grandmaster accused Niemann of using cheating techniques to cheat.
In court papers, filed in Missouri on Thursday, he claims that 31-year-old Magnus Carlsen, who he describes as the self-styled ‘King of Chess’, was fearful that the teenager would blemish his multi-billion dollar brand after beating him in September.
Chess.com published a report saying Niemann had “likely cheated” in hundreds of games, weeks after the incident.
Niemann, 19, denied the accusations, saying that he only cheated twice in his life – at the age of 12 and 16 – and that both infractions were some of the greatest regrets of his life.
Indicted are Daniel Rensch, executive at Chess.com and Hikaru Nakamura, a chess streamer.
He is now demanding a trial ‘to recover from the devastating damages that defendants have inflicted upon his reputation, career and life by egregiously defaming him and unlawfully colluding to blacklist him from the profession to which he has dedicated his life,’ according to the lawsuit.
Niemann’s lawsuit claims that:
- Carlsen established Player Magnus, an international brand with a lot of potential that was very lucrative. In a deal worth $83 millions, he combined Chess.com and Carlsen to’monopolize the world of chess’.
- After beating Carlson, he taunted Carlson during an interview on September 4. This caused him to “snap” and then he retaliated’maliciously against the teenager
- Carlsen was unable to be firmly established as the greatest chess player ever, and this defeat “would have rendered his empire less valuable.”
Niemann seeks $100 million for punitive, compensatory and consequential damages.
Hans Nieman, a teenage American chess prodigy, sued the Norwegian Grandmaster for cheating by using anal beats – and Chess.com online.
Niemann claimed in court papers filed in Missouri that Magnus Carlsen (31-year-old) was afraid that his brand, worth multi-billions of dollars, would be tarnished by the teenage Magnus Carlsen.
Niemann was charged with using vibrating anal beads during the September 4th tournament against Carlsen.
After rumors that vibrating anal beads controlled by third parties could be used to help him determine which moves were best in his match with Carlsen, the 19-year old chess prodigy declared that he would play naked.
‘Carlsen’s unprecedented actions, coupled with his unfounded accusations, sent shock waves through the chess world and instantly thrust Niemann into the center of what is now widely reported as the single biggest chess scandal in history,’ the lawsuit reads.
“Even though Carlsen did not have any reason to suspect Niemann of cheating against him, he was able to ensure that Niemann would be invited to participate in future chess tournaments. His false accusations would also cause top chess players around the world to avoid Niemann.
The defendant Nakamura, a Chess.com ‘influential streaming partnership’ who posted content that amplified Carlsen’s allegations with “numerous additional insulting statements”, is the defense.
Chess.com Executive Rensch was accused of publishing a ‘defamatory’ report to support Carlsen’s unverified defamatory allegations that Niemann had cheated on him at Sinquefield Cup.
Niemann was set up to face Vincent Keymer, a German teenager Grandmaster. However, Keymer refused to take part in the match after being accused of cheating.
The 19-year-old chess prodigy previously declared he would play naked to prove doubters wrong after rumors suggested he could have used vibrating anal beads
The lawsuit claimed that Carlsen had no reasoning to say Niemann was cheating using anal beads
Niemann – pictured in 2021, when he achieved the title of grandmaster – sent the elite world of competitive chess into a tailspin when he defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen
Following the cheating allegations against anal beads, Chess.com published a 72 page report accusing the self-taught chess prodigy of cheating “more than 100” in October 4.
Niemann was to start competing in U.S. chess tournaments on the 5th of October 2022. The lawsuit states that the Chess Championship tournament is one of Niemann’s last competitive chess tournaments, due to the repeated accusations made by the Defendants and the blacklisting.
Niemann wanted to play in the tournament, perform well, and reduce some of the defamatory accusations. But, yet again, the Defendants had other plans.
Although the lengthy report indicated that Chess.com received private confessions from the prodigy that he had cheated multiple times, it also disclosed that Chess.com has banned him from accessing the site. This information was never published.
According to the report, Niemann admitted his cheating during a Zoom phone call and then in writing after a Slackchat.
The report stated that many tournaments Chess.com claimed Niemann cheated at included cash prizes. These include Speed Chess Championship Qualifiers, Chess League PRO Chess League, and Chess.com Prize Events.
The accusations led to tournaments like the Tata Steel Chess Tourney to cease contact with Niemann. Carlsen, 19, has been banned from participating in tournaments that Niemann attends.
According to the suit, Niemann was expected to participate in 15 major chess tournaments each year. He would also earn $5,000-$15,000 as appearance fees and $5,000-$100,000.
Niemann is now banned from all tournaments. This lawsuit claims that Niemann’s “career” has been destroyed because of ‘Defendants lies.”
Chess.com’s official website released this report: Hans Mok Niemann is an American prodigy who has cheated more than 100 times throughout his professional career.
Niemann shook the world of competitive chess when he beat Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup, St Louis, Missouri last month.
This 31-year old Norwegian player is widely regarded as the best in history of the game. He had an unbeaten streak of 53 games and was now facing Niemann.
It was so shocking that gossips of cheating started to circulate almost immediately. Lurid claims that Niemann won his victory to vibrating anal beads, which telegraphed the winning moves in Morse Code quickly became reality.
Carlsen was forced to resign in a subsequent match after only one move. This is interpreted as an indication that he believes Niemann’s play does not meet the standard.