Defiant Niemann ‘won’t back down’ amid damning chess cheating report

The embattled American grandmaster Hans Niemann struck a defiant pose on Wednesday in his first public appearance since an investigation found that he had cheated in more than 100 online games, far more frequently than he had previously disclosed.

Shortly after defeating 15-year-old Christopher Yoo with the black pieces in the opening round of the US Chess Championship, Niemann spoke for less than a minute in a terse post-game interview and insisted he is “not going to back down” amid the allegations of foul play that have threatened to permanently stain a career that until last month was bursting with limitless promise.

“I think that this game is a message to everyone,” Niemann said. “This entire thing started with me saying chess speaks for itself, and I think that this game spoke for itself and showed the chess player that am. It also showed that I’m not going to back down and I’m going to play my best chess here regardless of the pressure that I’m under, and that’s all I have to say about this game. Chess speaks for itself, that’s all I can say.”

Niemann then cut off the interviewer when he started into a question about Wednesday’s game.

“I’m sorry, that’s it,” Niemann said before quickly exiting the studio. “You can leave it to your own interpretation, but thank you. That’s it. That’s all I’d like to say, because it was such a beautiful game I don’t even need to describe it.”

American grandmaster Hans Niemann's first public remarks since yesterday's bombshell report finding that he likely cheated in more than 100 online games, including ones with prize money involved: “Chess speaks for itself, that’s all I can say.” pic.twitter.com/PHD0PVAEBr

Fourteen players have convened at the Saint Louis Chess Club to compete