Top chess player Hans Niemann admits cheating in past but says he is now ‘clean’

A top US chess player accused of cheating after Magnus Carlsen quit a prestigious tournament has admitted to doing so as 12 and 16-year-old – but insisted that he was now “clean” and was even prepared to play naked to prove his innocence.

Hans Niemann, the 19-year-old who stunned the world champion Carlsen at the $500,000 Sinquefield Cup on Sunday evening, promised that he was a reformed character after revealing that he illegally benefited from computer assistance while playing chess on the internet as a child.

And in a passionate response, Niemann accused Carlsen and others – including the world’s best blitz player, Hikaru Nakamura – of trying to ruin his career as he offered to go to extraordinary lengths to show he wasn’t using a device to help him cheat during his games.

“If they want me to strip fully naked, I will do it,” said Niemann. “I don’t care. Because I know I am clean. You want me to play in a closed box with zero electronic transmission, I don’t care. I’m here to win and that is my goal regardless.”

The chess world was plunged into controversy on Monday when Carlsen withdrew from the tournament less than 24 hours after he was beaten by Niemann. The Norwegian did not explain why he had left but announced his departure in a tweet with a video of José Mourinho saying: “If I speak I am in big trouble.”

Shortly afterwards Nakamura claimed that Carlsen had pulled because he suspected that Niemann had “probably cheated” – before revealing that Niemann had been previously banned by the world’s most popular chess website, Chess.com.

Speaking on Tuesday evening, Niemann denied any wrongdoing at the Sinquefield Cup. However he did admit that he had cheated in the past – first as a 12-year-old when a friend gave him