By: Alvin Fang

A couple of days after losing an intense chess tournament by resigning after just one move, Magnus Carlsen (Ranked No. 1) accused his opponent Hans Niemann (No. 49) of cheating.

Although Niemann has cheated in the past by using electronic devices to find out what the best moves are, he claims he only did it when he was 12 and 16. he also denies cheating against Carlsen.

Tension between the players escalated during a rematch on September 19th. Carlsen, who started as white, got the first move and Neimann moved a single piece before quitting. Some suspect Niemann quit to convince others that he wasn’t cheating. Soon Carlsen went on to win the tournament.

When Carlsen played Niemann in St. Louis, he said, “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.”

Carlsen went on to say that if someone cheated more than once in the past, you shouldn’t trust them because you don’t know what they’re capable of in the future.

On Monday, A Chess Grandmaster Andrew Tang said “The cheating community is a secret, and Niemann isn’t alone.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/1125316142/chess-magnus-carlsen-hans-niemann-cheating