Niemann v Carlsen chess cheating controversy is ‘tragedy’ for both sides

The world of chess has lurched further into turmoil and rancour after an investigation found the American teenager Hans Niemann has benefited from “illegal assistance” in more than 100 online games – while four of the world’s top 100 grandmasters have also privately confessed to cheating.

The 72-page report by Chess.com is the latest twist in a saga that began more than a month ago when world champion Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the $500,000 Sinquefield Cup after losing to Niemann, before dropping coy hints that his opponent may have cheated.

Since then a cloud of suspicion has hung over the sport, along with increasingly wild theories about cheating using vibrating anal beads. The hashtag #chessdrama, which to many bemused onlookers must sound like an oxymoron, also now regularly trends on social media.

Niemann has vigorously denied cheating in over-the-board matches, including against Carlsen. However last month he admitted he had cheated twice in online events, as a 12 and 16-year-old. Yet Chess.com says it has identified 11 occasions, encompassing over 100 matches, where he has cheated.

“Notably, Ken Regan, an independent expert in the field of cheat detection in chess, has expressed his belief that Hans cheated during the 2015 and 2017 Titled Tuesdays, as well as numerous matches against other professional players in 2020,” it states in its report.

Despite highlighting “a lack of concrete statistical evidence that he cheated in his game with Magnus or in any other over-the-board games”, the investigation also questions Niemann’s rapid rise up the ranks.

“Hans became the fastest rising top player in classical, over-the-board chess in modern recorded history,” it points out, calling it “statistically extraordinary”.