Marathon chicanery, Maradona, Black Sox and more: sport cheating scandals

Not since Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit enthralled 62 million viewers has chess captured mainstream attention to such an extent.

Last month the Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, world No 1 and already the “rock star” of chess – see GQ profiles and multimillion‑pound apparel collaborations – accused the American Hans Niemann of cheating after the 19-year-old ended Carlsen’s over-the-board 53-match winning sequence.

Niemann accepts his victory was unexpected; especially because Carlsen was playing with the white pieces but maintains he prepared for an opening move and “by some ridiculous miracle” Carlsen played it. Carlsen was not buying it and – for the first time ever – resigned from the tournament. In a delicious twist, the two were fated to meet again two weeks later, this time over the internet. After playing a single move Carlsen again dramatically resigned in protest.

Other prominent figures in the chess world have weighed in (as well as Elon Musk, but when does he not?). Niemann admitted he had cheated twice before, years ago, but put it down to youthful indiscretion. He has even declared he is willing to play naked to prove his present innocence; which might not be enough considering some detractors have suggested he used vibrating anal beads to receive signals.

Then last week Chess.com produced a 72-page bombshell report suggesting Niemann has cheated more than 100 times. As the drama rolls on, let us take a look at some of the best cheating scandals in sport.

Genuinely difficult to know where to start here. Though the cheat in question was the American Fred Lorz, who rather brilliantly had the chutzpah to travel 11 miles of the race in a car, there was a lot going on in general. Lorz, who only ever trained at