World chess champion Magnus Carlsen brands rival a 'cheat'

World chess champion Magnus Carlsen has accused fellow player Hans Niemann of cheating, stating that he had "cheated more - and more recently - than he has publicly admitted".

Mr Carlsen, who no longer wants to play against the American or any rivals who repeatedly cheated in the past, resigned at the Julius Baer Generation Cup last week after one move against Mr Niemann, who lags him by almost 200 Elo points - the rating system used to calculate the relative skill levels of players.

"So far I have only been able to speak with my actions, and those actions have stated clearly that I am not willing to play chess with Niemann," the Norwegian said in a statement on Twitter.

Mr Carlsen, world champion since 2013, also withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis earlier this month after unexpectedly losing to the 19-year-old, sparking a furore of comments and allegations that Mr Niemann had cheated.

Mr Niemann has denied any wrongdoing in over-the-board games.

"When Niemann was invited last minute to the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, I strongly considered withdrawing prior to the event. I ultimately chose to play," Mr Carlsen said.

Mr Niemann has previously been banned from chess.com for cheating online after admitting he had not played fairly in non-competitive games on the website in his youth.

"I believe that Niemann has cheated more - and more recently - than he has publicly admitted," Mr Carlsen said.

"His over the board progress has been unusual, and throughout our game in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he wasn't tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions, while outplaying me as black in a way I think only a handful of players can do."

Mr Niemann was not immediately available to comment.

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