The final chapter was written recently in the Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann feud, according to leading chess platform Chess.com, which said they had reached an agreement and decided to put their differences aside. They will now move forward together without further litigation.
Last September at the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Missouri, Carlsen of Norway, a five-time world chess champion who has rarely been beaten, was defeated by Niemann, an unknown 19-year-old American grandmaster. Carlsen, 32, hinted that Niemann had cheated during the game, a declaration that rocked the chess world. Major newspapers covered the scandal. The accusation escalated into a multimillion-dollar lawsuit and an investigation into allegations of cheating against Niemann.
Chess.com stated that Niemann had “likely cheated” on its site more frequently and at a later age than he had publicly acknowledged in a 72-page report. Chess.com then banned Niemann from its website in October and Niemann retaliated by suing the website and Carlsen.
It is easier to cheat in online chess than during an over the board (OTB) game. In an online game, cheating would probably involve connecting to a chess computer or chess engine playing at a higher level than any human has been able to attain. In juxtaposition to such a possibility, I certainly cannot understand how OTB cheating occurs. It came as no surprise, therefore, when Chess.com reported that it had failed to turn up an abundance of concrete statistical evidence that Niemann had cheated in his OTB victory against Carlsen, or in a number of other OTB games. Niemann’s upset victory broke Carlsen’s 53-game OTB winning streak. However, chess.com did say that Niemann played from a disadvantageous black position and won.
Things were aggravated once more when Carlsen was again paired in an online tournament with Niemann. The world champion played one move and resigned, refusing to play, an unprecedented action.
A week ago, Niemann was fully reinstated to Chess.com, and most important of all, no evidence has been found of Niemann cheating against the world champion.
Carlsen issued the following statement in part: “I acknowledge and understand Chess.com’s report including its statement [that] there is no determinative evidence that Niemann cheated in his game against me at the Sinquefield Cup. I am willing to play Niemann in future events, should we be paired together.” Niemann responded: “I am pleased that my lawsuit against Magnus Carlsen and Chess.com has been resolved in a mutually acceptable manner, and that I am returning to Chess.com.”
Chess game
White: Alireza Firouzja
Black: Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Event: 2023 Julius Baer Generation Cup (rapid), August 30
Type of Game: Catalan Opening, Closed Variation
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 c5 5. Cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nf3 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Bc5 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 e5 11. Nb3 Bd6 12. Bg5 Qc7 13. Qd2 Nc6 14. Rfd1 Ba3 15. c4 Be6 16. Bd5 a5 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Qd7 Qxd7 19. Rxd7 Rf7 20. Rad1 a4 21. Rxf7 Kxf7 22. Nd2 Bb2 23. Ne4 a3 24. Rd7+ Kg6 25. g4 h6 26. Bd2 Ra4 27. Nd6 e4 28. Rxb7 Ne5 29. Rb4 e3 30. fxe3 Ra6 31. c5 Rc6 32. Nb7 Rc7 33. h3 h5 34. Gxh5+ Kxh5 35. Be1 g5 36. Bg3 Rd7 37. Nd6 Nc6 38. Rb6 Ne7 39. c6 Rc7 40. Rb7 Rxc6 41. Rxe7 Rc2 42. Rxe6 Ba1 43. Nf5 Rxa2 44. Rh6# 1-0. Black resigns.
