Chess world champion Magnus Carlsen has spoken for the first time since the dispute with the US teenager Hans Niemann, but again avoided concrete allegations of fraud.
In an interview with the organizer portal “chess24”, Carlsen answered the question why he gave up the game against the 19-year-old American on Monday evening in the online tournament “Julius Baer Generation Cup” after just one move: “Unfortunately, I can’t I can’t comment on that, but people can draw their own conclusions, and they did.”
In the chess scene, Carlsen’s sudden exit from the Sinquefield Cup presence tournament in St. Louis after an unexpected loss to Niemann was interpreted as allegations of cheating against the talented US teenager. The speculation was fueled by the American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, among otherswhich reaches an audience of millions with its online streams.
Evidence of Niemann’s cheating at the in-person tournament in St. Louis but are not available. Experts also analyzed that Carlsen’s defeat against Niemann could have been avoided if the 31-year-old had simply played better moves.
The Norwegian, who has been world chess champion since 2013, has recently had to struggle with motivational problems. Since he does not see any sporting challenge in defending his world title again, the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi and Chinese Ding Liren will fight for the title in 2023.
Niemann would even play chess naked
In an emotional interview, Niemann recently admitted to having cheated in online games on two occasions as a young teenager, but never in person at the board. “If you want me to strip completely naked, I will do it,” said Niemann, who said: “I know I’m clean.”
The fact that a website actually offered Niemann a million dollars to play chess naked shows that the biggest chess scandal of the last 15 years is becoming more and more bizarre.
It is unclear whether the talented US professional only cheated twice in online games. As part of the “Sinquefield Cup” allegations, the world’s largest chess platform, Chess.com, suspended his account due to evidence that would suggest more frequent cheating. The operators of the platform have not yet gone into more detail.
Carlsen: “Very impressed with Niemann’s game”
Carlsen only said of Niemann on Wednesday: “I have to say that I am very impressed by Niemann’s game and I think his mentor Maxim Dlugy must have done a great job.”
When asked why he mentioned the Moscow-born US grandmaster in this context, Carlsen declined to comment. Allegations of fraud in online chess games were also made against the 56-year-old years ago. It is unclear to what extent Dlugy really takes on an active mentoring role for Niemann.
When asked if Carlsen would elaborate further at a later date, he replied: “I hope to say a little more after the tournament.” Legal reasons probably also play a role in why the Norwegian is currently not going further.