CHENNAI: Magnus Carlsen finally broke his silence apropos the cheating allegations around US Grandmaster Hans Niemann. In a statement he posted on Twitter, the Norwegian accused Niemann, who had beaten the world Classical champion at a tournament in St. Louis earlier this month, of cheating ‘more recently than he has publicly admitted’.
It’s the first time the 31-year-old has addressed the issue in a straightforward manner after withdrawing from the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis a day after Niemann, playing with black pieces, beat Carlsen. When Carlsen withdrew midway from the Sinquefield Cup, he posted a cryptic message on Twitter without clarifying why he was withdrawing. More recently, he also resigned while playing against the 19-year-old. At the Julius Baer Generation Cup last week an online Rapid event Carlsen protest resigned. These moves sent shockwaves across the chess world even as Niemann, who admitted to cheating on chess.com twice when he was 12 and 16, maintained his innocence.
On Tuesday, Carlsen posted: “At the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, I made the unprecedented professional decision to withdraw from the tournament after my round three game against Hans Niemann. A week later during the Champions Chess Tour, I resigned against Hans Niemann after playing one move.
“I know that my actions have frustrated many in the chess community. I’m frustrated. I want to play chess. I want to continue to play chess at the highest level in the best events... When Niemann was invited last minute to the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, I strongly considered withdrawing prior to the event... I believe that Niemann has cheated more and more recently than he has publicly admitted.
His over-the-board progress has been unusual, and throughout our game in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he wasn’t tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions, while outplaying me as black in a way I think only a handful of players can do. This game contributed to changing my perspective. We must do something about cheating, and for my part going forward, I don’t want to play against people that have cheated repeatedly in the past because I don’t know what they are capable of doing in the future...”
While Carlsen hasn’t offered proof, the chess world threw their weight around the Norwegian after the statement landed (for their part, the World Chess Federation, have promised to get to the bottom of the issue, including a thorough investigation). Indian GM, RB Ramesh, who was the architect behind the India ‘B’ finishing with a bronze at the Olympiad in August, tweeted: “Immense respect for the world champion for taking a principled stand on an important issue, forcing the world to pay attention to it at a huge personal cost,” he posted. “Ideally, the chess world and FIDE should have devised a good practical solution to the cheating problem years ago.”
Niemann hasn’t reacted following the allegations levelled against him. However, he did say he was open to doing everything in his power to prove his innocence after the St. Louis episode, including a willingness to ‘play naked’.
Carlsen’s moves on the chess board has won him a lot of admirers and it has also made him near-invincible. His latest move comes as a shock. One suspects there are still several chapters before this particular endgame.
Timeline
Sept. 4 : Niemann beats Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup.
Sept. 5: Carlsen withdraws, puts out cryptic tweet.
Sept. 5-10: It emerges that Niemann has cheated before. Calls for Carlsen to speak out on the tweet are made by multiple GMs.
Sept. 19: Carlsen protest resigns after one move against Niemann
Sept. 23: FIDE prepared to do a thorough investigation
Sept. 27: Carlsen breaks silence, publicly accuses Niemann of cheating recently