“19-year-old chess grandmaster Hans Niemann was banned by large on-line chess platform Chess.com,” experiences Motherboard, “only a few days after being accused of dishonest in actual life in opposition to five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen.”
Chess.com stated in a statement that “We’ve got shared detailed proof with him regarding our determination, together with data that contradicts his statements concerning the quantity and seriousness of his dishonest on Chess.com.”
Niemann admitted to dishonest on Chess.com up to now, however claimed that the 2 instances he did have been involving trivial, non-over-the-board video games, and that he was solely a baby as he was 12 and 16 when it occurred. “I simply needed to get higher-rated so I may play stronger gamers, so I cheated in random video games on Chess.com,” he stated [in an online interview with St. Louis Chess Club]…. ” I’ve by no means cheated in an over-the-board sport” [meaning a game that takes place on a real-world chess board]. Chess.com launched its personal assertion Thursday countering his claims, which stated: “At the moment, we’ve got reached out to Hans Niemann to clarify our determination to privately take away him from Chess.com and our occasions. We’ve got shared detailed proof with him regarding our determination, together with data that contradicts his statements concerning the quantity and seriousness of his dishonest on Chess.com….”
To this point, there has not been any concrete proof that factors to Niemann dishonest…. There are nonetheless many individuals who’ve been publicly supporting Niemann because the underdog. Russian chess grandmaster, Garry Kasparov, instructed TASS, “After all we won’t say with certainty that Niemann did not cheat, however Carlsen surprisingly performed the opening so badly with white that he robotically obtained right into a worse place.”
Chess.com’s assertion says they’ve “invited Hans to offer an evidence and response with the hope of discovering a decision the place Hans can once more take part on Chess.com.”
The Guardian factors out that Niemann has now additionally been uninvited from Chess.com’s World Championship, a $1m occasion with on-line qualifiers and an eight-player last in Toronto. However in addition they discover whether or not Neimann was actually dishonest…
The Californian teenager, who doesn’t have a coach however whose ranking has jumped 250 factors in three years, had already overwhelmed the world champion a month earlier in an internet event in Miami, when he made headlines for a one-sentence victory interview the place he stated: “Chess speaks for itself,” earlier than strolling off…. [In his match this week against Carlsen] the place out of the opening was virtually degree, a minimal 0.3 plus for Black, however the world champion appeared to strive too onerous, with sub-optimal selections at strikes 22, 40 and 42. Niemann additionally made inaccuracies, so the sport lacked the tell-tale indicators of pc assist….
It could seem that the central concern is whether or not Carlsen believes his pre-game evaluation of his supposed shock 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 g3 was leaked, both by a mole inside his camp or by a pc hack. An alternate rationalization of the “leak” might be fairly harmless. The related pawn construction, with believable transpositions into Carlsen v Niemann, had already occurred in a earlier well-known Carlsen sport in opposition to England’s Michael Adams in 2006. Niemann stated he requested himself what concepts Carlsen may produce to divert him from his deliberate Catalan with … Bb4+ and determined to test 5 Nc3, a uncommon transposition to the Nimzo-Indian. There was additionally Niemann’s personal very latest sport in opposition to Le Quang Liem at Miami, the place 5 g3 (as a substitute of 5 e3 d5 as performed) d5 6 a3 may simply transpose into Carlsen v Niemann….
[I]t is straightforward to grasp why the world champion was so upset. Carlsen’s event rating might be cancelled, however his video games might be rated and the defeat by Niemann will price him seven ranking factors, a big setback within the context of attempting to get from 2865 to 2900. His dream of a document ranking has simply grow to be extra distant.
