My lawsuit speaks for itself’ |Hans Niemann sues ‘accuser’ Magnus Carlsen for $100 mn in new twist to ‘cheating’ scandal
The controversy dates back to September 4 this year, when 19-year-old Niemann stunned Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup.
The Hans Niemann vs Magnus Carlsen feud has now taken a dramatic twist after the American chess grandmaster filed a defamation lawsuit against World Champion Carlsen, Chess.com and others. The lawsuit comes a month after Niemann found himself in the middle of a scandal amid World No. 1 Carlsen’s ‘cheating’ allegations.
My lawsuit speaks for itself’: Niemann
Taking to Twitter, Hans Niemann shared the pages of his lawsuit which was filed on Thursday in the Eastern Missouri District Court. The American has sued Carlsen and others for $100 million. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of libel, slander, unlawful group boycott and more. The lawsuit said that Carlsen’s reputation in the chess world would ensure that the public believed his allegations, and that tournament heads and other players would boycott Niemann in the future.
According to a CNN report, Chess.com has released a statement stating that they are ‘saddened’ by Niemann’s decision as the lawsuit ‘hurts the game of chess and its devoted players’. The statement further read, “Hans confessed publicly to cheating online in the wake of the Sinquefield Cup, and the resulting fallout is of his own making.
As stated in its October 2022 report, Chess.com had historically dealt with Hans’ prior cheating privately, and was forced to clarify its position only after he spoke out publicly. There is no merit to Hans’ allegations, and Chess.com looks forward to setting the record straight on behalf of its team and all honest chess players.”
How did the feud begin?
The controversy dates back to September 4 this year, when 19-year-old Niemann stunned Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup. The next day, the World No. 1 withdrew from the tournament and sent a cryptic tweet that suggested Niemann ‘cheated’ during the on-board match. Hans Niemann denied the allegations, however, he admitted to cheating as a kid in an online tournament when he was all of 12 years old.
On September 26, Carlsen issued a statement on Twitter accusing Niemann of cheating in more games. In his statement, Carlsen said, “I believe that cheating in chess is a big deal and an existential threat to the game. I also believe that chess organizers and all those who care about the sanctity of the game we love should seriously consider increasing security measures and methods of cheat detection for over-the-board chess.” The Norwegian even vowed to not play against the American.
month after Carlsen’s accusation, Chess.com stated in its 72-page report that, “Outside his online play, Hans is the fastest rising top player in Classical [over-the-board] chess in modern history. Looking purely at the rating, Hans should be classified as a member of this group of top young players.
While we don’t doubt that Hans is a talented player, we note that his results are statistically extraordinary.” The report adds that the 19-year-old has cheated on at least 100 previous occasions, which is far more than he has publicly admitted.
Sam Sevian leaves Niemann stunned
During the recent US Chess Championship, Hans Niemann vs Sam Sevian match witnessed a shocking episode where grandmaster Sam Sevian was spotted picking up Niemann’s king in the middle of the match, much to the latter’s anguish.
The video of the incident, which went viral, witnessed Sam Sevian picked up Hans Neimann’s king during the match and was attempting to fix it using glue after the piece had broken. After Neimann seemed annoyed because of Sevian’s actions, the 21-year-old placed the king back. The viral video ends with Neimann seemingly asking Sevian what was he doing.
