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Hans Niemann

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Chess Champ

The Resume

    (June 20, 2003- )
    Born in San Francisco, California
    Awarded the title of Grandmaster (January 2021)
    Won the World Open chess tournament (July 2021)
    Defeated reigning world chess champion Magnus Carlsen in the Sinquefield Cup (September 4, 2022)

Why he might be annoying:

    After the Sinquefield Cup, Carlsen obliquely hinted that Niemann had cheated.
    Carlsen then said he would not play against Niemann in the future and openly accused him of cheating.
    While denying that he had cheated in live matches, he admitted to having cheated in online games when he was 12 and 16 years old.
    Chess.com concluded that he had cheated in at least 100 online games, including prize events.
    He filed a $100 million lawsuit against Chess.com and Carlsen which was dismissed by a federal judge (albeit on procedural grounds rather than the merits of the case).
    The most elaborate version of the cheating rumors claimed that he had love beads in his anus and that a confederate with a remote control would vibrate the beads to send plays in Morse code.
    A New York Times story noted that even before the cheating allegations, Niemann had a reputation as 'an abrasive jerk.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    Carlsen did not provide any evidence to back up his cheating allegations.
    Several observers (such as former world champ Anatoly Karpov) felt that Carlsen had played below his usual standard at Sinquefield.
    An analysis by anti-cheating expert Ken Regan found no evidence Niemann had cheated in his live games, including the Sinquefield Cup game against Carlsen.
    He said, 'If they want to strip me fully naked, I will do it. I don't care, because I know I am clean.'
    An out of court settlement was reached, with Chess.com reinstating Niemann's account and Carlsen agreeing to play against Niemann in future events and acknowledging 'that there is no determinative evidence that Niemann cheated in his game against me at the Sinquefield Cup.' (August 28, 2023)

Credit: C. Fishel


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