Fraud or genius: Chess player Hans Moke Niemann

USA's Hans Niemann (19) defeated Norwegian record-breaking champion Magnus Carlsen (31) in the Sinquefield Cup. Carlsen made a surprising move against Niemann and then withdrew from the game. Carlsen said that he will make his statement after the tournament is over and left question marks in mind. The victory of Niemann, who was known to cheat in chess races he participated in online, became the subject of discussion. As a matter of fact, Niemann's coach Maxim Dlugy has also been banned since 2017 for fraud on the chess site chess.com. Internet detectives studied Niemann's moves and moves in the race. It has been suggested that Niemann used a vibrating anal fantasy toy in this match.

MEASURE HAS BEEN FEATED

He decided on Niemann's moves with the help of this vibrating toy. Allegedly, someone known to Niemann is watching the match, which was broadcast live. It has the position analyzed by a special program on the computer and sends vibrations to Niemann from the phone app. With these vibrations, Niemann understands which stone to move where. But officials say there's nothing on Niemann.

On the other hand, Niemann was also able to win two of the first three matches in this tournament. The other six matches were drawn or lost. The allegations were fueled by the fact that it was defeated after increasing security measures such as introducing a 15-minute delay to game broadcasts and adding extra scans for radio frequencies.

Details

After the incident, Carlsen shared a video of Famous Football Coach Mourinho saying, "I'm in big trouble if I talk." After this post, which was a sign that Niemann was cheating, the chess world was split in two. Niemann, on the other hand, made an extremely offensive statement to Carlsen in the interview after the game, "He was losing to an idiot like me, it must be embarrassing for the World Champion."

So who is this Niemann?

Born in 2003, Niemann was born in California, but moved to the Netherlands at the age of seven and studied at a gifted school. Niemann's chess career is quite interesting. The self-taught player has no known trainer, which is very abnormal. Its rating, which was 2465 in September 2020, increased to 2688 in September 2022. It is also very interesting that Niemann has not won any major tournaments during his extraordinary and incredible rise. He qualified for the Sinquefield Cup not because of his own success, but because GM Richard Rapport was unable to participate in the tournament. So, does all this prove he cheated? Of course not. There is no evidence yet that Niemann cheated. However, on the other hand, we have not witnessed World Champion Carlsen leaving any tournament in protest. Even after losing to much weaker players, Carlsen never hid behind such an excuse. GM Nakamura, one of the strongest players and broadcasters in the world, also stated that Carlsen would never act like this normally, and that he left the tournament because he suspected that Niemann was cheating.

Nakamura also stated that Niemann was blocked for cheating twice on the world-famous internet chess platform Chess.com, at the age of 12 and 16, and the dark spots in the player's past. Nakamura also implied in Niemann's analytical interviews about the games that a 2700-level player did not agree with his analysis and explanations and that his rating was fraudulent. Talking about his game with Carlsen, Niemann claimed that he prepared the opening very well and knew the positions. Niemann even mentioned a similar game Carlsen played in London a few years ago, but it soon became clear that no such game had been played.

Niemann, who does not deny that he cheated twice at the age of 12 and 16, states that this was the biggest mistake of his life, he is ashamed of it, but he never cheated in tabletop tournaments. Niemann told The Guardian: “I was 16 years old, living alone in New York amid the pandemic, and was ready to do anything to improve at chess. I know that my actions have consequences, and I have suffered those consequences. During this time I walked away from a very lucrative broadcasting career, stopped playing at all events, and lost many close friendships and relationships. I decided that the only way to make up for my mistake was to prove I could win big tournaments. That was my task. That's why I studied hard, played 260 games in a year, trained 12 hours a day, because I have something to prove. They have the best cheat detection in the world, they know I'm not cheating. I gave my all to chess. I work hard and sacrificed everything for chess. I believe the accusations are unfair. But I'm not afraid to tell the world that I cheated at some random game at 12 and 16 because I know who I am. Everything I've done over the past few years has been to make up for that mistake, and I hope my results, dedication and hard work have shown that I've learned my lesson.”

While the chess world is eagerly awaiting Carlsen's next statement on the subject, time will surely tell whether Niemann is a fraud or a genius.