Hans Niemann

The world champion withdrew from the tournament after defeat in the third round and Hikaru Nakamura said Niemann was 'probably cheating'

I shall not speculate on the reasons for his withdrawal, but probably would expect a tournament director to air them.” Emil Sutovsky, the director general of Fide, the chess governing body, dismissed suggestions that Carlsen had quit because he was a bad loser. Because it is not a big thing. “Chess.com does not discuss fair play matters publicly and, as such, we decline to comment on the happenings at Sinquefield Cup and/or any speculations made by the community,” he said. “I was struggling to even focus, I was thinking about it the entire game,” he said. It is extremely difficult to prove cheating in over-the-board chess and there is no evidence of wrongdoing on Niemann’s part at the event. “This is simply a different thing. “Magnus would never do this in a million years,” he said. “He wouldn’t do this unless he really strongly believes Hans is cheating with a very strong conviction. Niemann was asked about Carlsen’s withdrawal, but not about the cheating allegations. Nakamura, who is closely affiliated with the world’s biggest chess website, chess.com, suggested Niemann had been banned from playing online in the past. On Monday, organisers of the $500,000 (£433,000) Sinquefield Cup announced additional anti-cheating precautions, including a 15-minute delay in the broadcast of the moves and increased radio-frequency identification checks.

Just one game in round five of the 2022 Sinquefield Cup was close to seeing a winner, and that was in the encounter between the two American GMs Leinier ...

½ The 10 players compete in an all-play-all round-robin for their share of the $319,000 prize fund. It's no wonder that the level of play and combativeness of the tournament has dropped in the last two rounds. After another inaccuracy, the remainder of the advantage was gone, and Niemann could check his way to a repetition of moves. It is difficult to underestimate what impact the last couple of days have had on Niemann. Only after the 26th move did he come under the initial 90 minutes that he had been allotted at the beginning of the game. White seemed to have to pressure which eventually amounted to a pawn-win. From the reactions amongst the players, this could be a similar situation, or maybe they are just emotionally exhausted from the speculations. There seemed to be a somber mood amongst both players and commentators during the Tuesday round. [Wesley So](https://www.chess.com/players/wesley-so) remains in the lead, now with 3 points. The other three games were largely uneventful draws. Dominguez had an overwhelming position but let Niemann off the hook.

The American made an impassioned statement during an interview with St Louis Chess Club commentator Alejandro Ramírez after allegations swirled on social media.

He later wrote on Twitter, “Hikaru has thoroughly enjoyed watching all of my interviews and enjoyed criticizing every single detail.... It was the single biggest mistake of my life and I am completely ashamed.” I’ve always enjoyed playing in the @STLChessClub, and hope to be back in the future.” “I was just a child,” Niemann said. Niemann said there were “some insinuations” in the tweet by Carlsen and “everyone started to pile [on]”. I am proud of myself that I learned from my mistake.

Hans Niemann, the 19-year-old who beat world champion Magnus Carlsen, has promised he is a reformed character after admitting cheating in the past.

And that is why I have lived in a suitcase and played 260 games in one year, trained for 12 hours a day, because I have something to prove.” I am telling the world because I don’t want misrepresentations and I don’t want rumours. “What I want people to know about this is that I am deeply, deeply sorry for my mistake. However he did admit that he had cheated in the past – first as a 12-year-old when a friend gave him some help in an online tournament and then as a 16-year-old playing unrated games while he was streaming. The Norwegian did not explain why he had taken such an unprecedented step, but announced his departure in a tweet with a video of José Mourinho saying: “If I speak I am in big trouble.” Because I know I am clean.

It didn't disappoint, as Hans admitted cheating online in the past but denied ever cheating over-the-board. He hit out at Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and ...

I hope that my results and my commitment and my hard work has shown that I have learned from this and that I learned my lesson. I can come to the game, I can completely strip, you want to do any fair play check to me you want I don’t care, because I know that I’m clean. I really do not think that I’ll have the courage to say this, but some people, I’m very thankful to the people who helped me make the decision, and this is the truth, and now Magnus and Hikaru. we have privately…” They didn’t want to ban me publicly, because then they have to give a reason, and they think that they can scare me, because they think that I’m not going to talk about it, because I’m afraid to admit this, but I did this when I was 12 years old, and then other times when I did it it was not even in an over-the-board championship, it was not even for prize money, it was absolutely random games, and I understand that some people might lose respect for me for this, but it is my greatest mistake, and everything I’ve done in the past few years has been to make up for that mistake, and that is my entire purpose as a chess player, to prove to myself and to others that I’m trying to do better. So I’m not going to be scared, to be manipulated and to be conspired against, to try to ruin my chess career, when I know what has happened. This is a targeted attack, and if you look at my games, this is not, it has nothing to do with my games, so why does the CEO of Chesscom come to me and say we’re looking forward to having you at the Global Chess Championship, we’re looking forward to you playing in our events, and then right when I beat Magnus they decide to remove my account and not let me play in the tournaments. I met with Danny Rensch in Miami, and Danny Rensch was the person who confronted me, and I was deeply, deeply indebted to him for handling the ban privately and giving me the chance to redeem myself. Other than when I was 12 years old, I have never, ever, ever, and I would never do that, that is the worst thing I could ever do, cheat in a tournament with prize money. I am proud of myself that I learned from that mistake, and now I have given everything to chess. When I was 12 years old, I was with a friend and I was playing Titled Tuesday. I don’t feel the need to calculate every single variation, because I’m confident that there’s no way he’s going to take, and if he takes he’s going to be scared shitless. I live, I don’t spend any time in America, I only speak to chess players who have bad English, so maybe think, maybe I’m a product of my environment.

Hans Niemann, 19, admits to having cheated at chess as a child but says he is now clean and beat world champion Magnus Carlsen fair and square.

I work so hard and chess is my entire life." I don't care because I know I know that I'm clean and I'm willing to subject myself to what you want me to play," Niemann said. "I'm not going to let Chess.com, I'm not going to let Magnus Carlsen, I'm not going to let Hikaru Nakamura — the three arguably biggest entities in chess — simply slander my reputation," said Niemann. "They want me to strip fully naked? "They know I am not a cheater and that I give everything to chess. "This is the single biggest mistake of my life and I am completely ashamed, and I'm telling the world because I don't want misrepresentations and I don't want rumours.

Hans Niemann is on the quest to save his reputation from the collective innuendo that resulted in Magnus Carlsen walking away from a major tournament ...

Following Carlsen’s withdrawal from the GCT and a string of accusations, chess.com disinvited Niemann from its top events. But the new chess star is actually doing more than defending. Hans Niemann is on the quest to save his reputation from the collective innuendo that resulted in Magnus Carlsen walking away from a major tournament following an embarrassing loss to Niemann.