'He wasn't tight on critical hits': Three questions about cheating suspicions rocking the professional chess world

An unprecedented dispute pits Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen against American Hans Niemann, accused of cheating in physical and online tournaments.

The case contrasts with the hushed universe of the "king of games". Since the beginning of September, the world chess champion, the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, accuses of cheating his American rival, Hans Niemann, whose career has recently taken off.

After refusing two games with Niemann, while remaining silent on his reasons, Magnus Carlsen ended up openly accusing him of fraud in a press release (in English) posted on Twitter Monday, September 26. Franceinfo returns to this file which worries even the international chess federation.

1 Who are the two players concerned?

At the origin of this scandal, Magnus Carlsen, 31, reigning world champion, who has been squatting the peaks of the discipline since 2013. Originally from Tønsberg, in Norway, he also holds the title of "International Grandmaster" of 'chess. His first significant victories date back to his adolescence, notably when he beat, at the age of only 13, two masters of the discipline: Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov.

Facing him, Hans Niemann, a 19-year-old player less known, but still described as a young prodigy by certain titles in the specialized press. The American born in 2003 in California indeed started competitions at the age of 9, and often found himself on the final podium at international tournaments. His career accelerated during the year 2021 with a first place at the World Open in Philadelphia (United States) then an entry into the top 100 of the best players in the world in March 2022.

2 What is young Hans Niemann accused of?

In his statement, Magnus Carlsen expresses serious doubts about the meteoric progress of Hans Niemann, accusing the American of having " cheated more, and more recently, than he has publicly admitted" . After beating Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup on September 4, Niemann denied having cheated during this meeting, while admitting to having cheated as a teenager.

"When I was 12, I received a little help from a machine (...) and four years later, I made a huge mistake during friendly games", he had confessed in margin of the tournament, quoted by the media Chessdom (article in English) . The young player may have sworn that he had never cheated since -  even saying he was ready to "play naked" to prove that he was not wearing a cheating device on him  - but it still had him earned you a ban from Chess.com, the largest online chess platform.

This explanation also did not convince Magnus Carlsen, who simply withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup after his defeat, then during a second online meeting against Hans Niemann on September 19.

"He was neither tense nor particularly concentrated during critical hits" , was surprised the Norwegian about their first duel. In his press release, Magnus Carlsen does not specify his accusations but calls for more checks from tournament organizers. “I think cheating poses an existential threat to chess ,” he said, warning that he would not play against his American rival again and that he would not say more without his prior agreement.

3 How do chess federations react?

Tournament organizers and chess rating bodies take these accusations very seriously. Starting with the International Chess Federation (Fide), which issued a rare press release (link in English) on September 23 to call for calm. "It is our duty to protect the integrity of the game and its image , declared Arkady Dvorkovich, president of Fide. The world champion [Magnus Carlsen] has a moral responsibility linked to his status (...), we We believe there were better ways to handle this situation."

That being said, however, Fide shares Magnus Carlsen's "deep concerns" and intends to urgently set up a panel of specialists to strengthen its anti-cheating protocols. "We hope that this whole situation can have a positive effect in the long term, if it is approached correctly, (...) in order to combat this risk and prevent it from becoming a real scourge", declared the most world's top chess body.