As the controversy in international chess deepens, the World Chess Federation’s (FIDE) Fair Play Commission (FPL) has announced that it will set up an investigatory panel to investigate world chess champion Magnus Carlsen’s contention that American Hans Niemann cheated during a tournament last month in St Louis Missouri.
Carlsen, the 31-year-old Norwegian champion and the 19-year-old American Niemann had played a game in the classical mode of the St Louis, Missouri, Sinquefield Cup. Niemann was the lowest-ranked player in the tournament. Yet he managed to counter Carlsen’s moves and pull off a win. Carlsen was undefeated in 53 games in classical chess and had the advantage of moving the white pieces first in the said game. Soon after the game Carlsen had uncharacteristically withdrawn from the tournament without explanation although there were six rounds remaining. Afterward, Carlsen expressed his dissatisfaction with the game.
Days later, Carlsen issued a public statement regarding his withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup. “I believe that Niemann has cheated more – and more recently than he has publicly admitted,” he said in the statement.
Following the Carlsen-Niemann encounter, it was widely believed Niemann had cheated in that particular game. Niemann had admitted to cheating previously, when he was a 12-year-old and when he was 16, both times in online games.
Niemann’s FIDE ratings – September 2020 (2465), September 2021 (2609) and September 2022 (2688) – are extraordinary and unprecedented. No one rises on the FIDE rating list like that. Niemann’s meteoric rise in the FIDE ranks is widely viewed with suspicion.
Niemann is adamant he did not cheat when he played Carlsen last month. A senior member of the GCF Loris Nathoo put it this way: “My assessment of the incident is that the World Chess Federation and Mr Carlsen should prove that Niemann has cheated.” Which is what FIDE’s FPL has now undertaken. In the meantime, Niemann continues to participate in international tournaments.
In local news, FIDE Master Anthony Drayton treated onlookers to an excellent display of simultaneous chess on Saturday, September 24, at the Giftland Mall.
As this newspaper reported on Friday, the event was hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) and young, mature, novices and experienced players were all invited to participate in the mini-extravaganza. Drayton played ten juniors at the same time, and was defeated by only one of them, Kyle Couchman.
It is no easy task to beat a player who is fresh from the Olympiad and who out-manoeuvred a recognised FIDE ranked International Master. Another GCF event was scheduled for yesterday at the same venue as the organisation continues to expose the public to chess, teach the game and recognise new talent.
