Recently, a chess cheating scandal caught the world’s attention. During the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, MO, five-time World Champion and Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen lost to 19 year old Grandmaster Hans Niemann. This was the first time in two years that Carlsen lost a match. Carlsen later withdrew from the tournament, though there were still 6 rounds left, causing a major disruption. Later, Carlsen resigned to Niemann during an online tournament after making just one move. Carlsen’s actions suggested that he believed that Niemann was cheating. One of the outrageous assertions, that Niemann was cheating through the use of vibrating anal beads, caught the world’s attention. To date, the assertion has not been proven true, but the situation has caused great controversy both in and out of the chess world.
Carlsen’s resignation to Niemann caused a huge uproar leading many to accuse Niemann of cheating. Carlsen released a tweet and video that hinted at this. Attached to the tweet was a video showing football manager Jose Mourinho stating, “If I speak, I am in big trouble.” Later, Chess.com released a statement stating that Niemann was banned from their website. On September 26, 2022, Carlsen released a statement accusing Niemann of cheating. Following that, GM Eric Hansen started an online rumor that Niemannn was using anal beads controlled by his coach to cheat during the game. On October 4, 2022, Chess.com released a 72 page report detailing previously confidential information regarding Niemann’s history of cheating. Niemann spoke at a press conference where he admitted to cheating in online tournaments when he was 12 and 16 years old, but denied cheating in over-the-board games.
Business Motivations
It has been alleged that Magnus Carlsen and Chess.com’s business partnerships have influenced Chess.com’s stance on Carlsen. In August 2022, the Play Magnus Group, founded by Carlsen, accepted an $83 million buyout by Chess Growthco, the owner of Chess.com. Many believe that this business transaction has biased Chess.com in favor of Carlsen. This appears to be supported by Chess.com’s release of detailed information relating to Niemann’s prior cheating, which was supposed to be confidential.
Counter-Suit
Niemann has recently announced that he has filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen for “egregiously defaming him and unlawfully colluding to blacklist him from the profession.” It is not likely that Niemann will win his lawsuit, but this case has drawn even more attention to itself with this suit.
Anti-Cheating Detection
Online tournaments, especially those where cash prizes are involved, have been plagued by online cheating, where players typically use chess engines to make the best moves. However, there is highly sophisticated anti-cheating software in place. I recently participated in an online chess tournament, and it took about 3 weeks for the organizers to confirm that people had not cheated by employing this sophisticated software. While this software is viewed as accurate, its use does raise questions about whether it can be correct every time. Additionally, it would be hard to detect if a player used a chess engine for only a few decisive moves, which can determine the result of the game.
In person anti-cheating tactics have been in existence in most over the board tournaments I have played in, mostly consisting of cell phone bans. However, players have not been scanned for any earpieces or transmitters in many tournaments and many games were broadcasted to the internet in live time. Only extremely elite tournaments have advanced mechanisms in place to detect cheating such as metal detectors, broadcast delays, and radio frequency scanners. In 2019, GM Igors Rausis was found to be cheating in the bathroom with his cell phone. However, this was only discovered due to the use of an illegally placed camera in the bathroom. Therefore, it would be difficult, but possible, to cheat in over the board tournaments if aided by an accomplice or a hidden phone in the bathroom. Because of the allegations against Niemann, anti-cheating tactics have been tightened, including a recent announcement that a physician will be screening players’ ears to check for neurotransmitters in a tournament in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The cheating scandal surrounding Carlsen and Niemann brings attention to the sophisticated cheating abilities that may be present due to our rapidly changing technology. In my opinion, top chess players such as Niemann would not be able to cheat consistently, and some of the assertions made against Niemann seem unbelievable to me. There has been no physical evidence that Niemann cheated in an over the board chess game. I believe he has proven himself time and again, and therefore, I do not think it is likely he cheated in this situation. This controversy does raise interesting ethical issues, however, regarding cheating in chess, and at what cost players will try to win, even at the very highest levels of play.
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