Magnus Carlsen accuses rival of cheating, doubles down on chess scandal

Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, 31, has doubled down on the chess scandal involving a 19-year-old American, accusations of cheating and elusive suspicions about using an anal device to communicate the best moves during a game.

The controversy erupted at the beginning of the month, when Carlsen, world champion and current best, lost to Hans Niemann, then number 49 in the international ranking. The game was valid for the Sinquefield Cup, a tournament held by the traditional Saint Louis Chess Club, in the USA.

After the defeat, Carlsen withdrew from the competition. He repeated the dose two weeks later, interrupting another match against Niemann after just one move. In both cases, the world champion aired insinuations that his opponent had cheated.

This Monday (26), the Norwegian went beyond the indirect and used Twitter to position himself very clearly on the subject.

“When Niemann was invited at the last minute to the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, I seriously considered not playing in the tournament,” he wrote. “I believe that Niemann has cheated more – and more recently – than he has publicly admitted.”

Carlsen was referring to the fact that the American confessed to cheating a few years ago, but said he only did so in online games that were worthless. He further stated that he last used illegal expedients at age 16 and has been clean ever since.

Niemann even offered to play naked. It’s just that, in online games, it’s easy to imagine how someone can have a computer helping them play. In face-to-face matches, like the one in Saint Louis, the device needs to be hidden somewhere – hence the speculation about the anal device.

Without going into the merits of the hiding place, Carlsen listed reasons to distrust Niemann. He cited, for example, his progress in the world rankings, faster than any other player in history.

Of the game that sparked the scandal, Carlsen said, “I got the feeling that he wasn’t tense or fully focused on the game during decisive moves, and that while outdoing me with the black pieces in a way that only a handful of chess players could. to do”.

The Norwegian said he was frustrated with his withdrawal from the competition in Saint Louis and acknowledged that his attitude disappoints the chess community, but pondered that cheating is a serious problem, which represents an existential threat to the game.

“We need to do something about cheating, and for my part, I no longer want to play against people who have repeatedly cheated in the past because I don’t know what they are capable of in the future,” Carlsen wrote.

A few days before Carlsen’s communiqué, Fide (International Chess Federation) spoke inconclusively on the subject. He stated that the world champion has a responsibility as an ambassador for chess and that he did not handle the issue well.

On the other hand, Fide expressed its concern about the damage that cheating can cause to sport and announced an investigation into the Niemann case.

For the Brazilian Mauro Amaral, who is an international chess referee and is used to organizing competitions, it seems unlikely that Carlsen is right.

“In an elite tournament, anti-cheating security is very high. Metal detectors are used and searches can be carried out before matches. The Saint Louis team is very experienced. I don’t believe anyone can go through these procedures, as they are few players”, he said.

Amaral also recalls that Carlsen has not yet presented any evidence to support the allegations. “An accusation of this level, made by a world champion, can affect the career of a promising young man,” he said.