Alex Therrien – BBC correspondent and chess player
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Magnus Carlsen
When champion Magnus Carlsen and his young rival Hans Niemann faced off earlier this month, no one would have thought that the shadow of cheating would fall on the chessboard.
The 19-year-old American was at the bottom of the list among the names participating in the tournament. Opposite him was the player Magnus Carlsen, who marked the last 20 years.
The 31-year-old Norwegian had not lost the last 53 games and had the advantage of playing the first stone against Niemann.
But instead of cringing, Niemann took control of the game and cornered his experienced opponent.
The result was shocking, but what happened afterwards made us forget this result.
Carlsen, who had six more matches, withdrew from the tournament without explanation. At this level, it was an unprecedented event.
Carlsen then shared a post-match interview on Twitter with the famous coach Mourinho saying “I’ll get in trouble if I talk”.
Although Niemann was not mentioned by name, this post was interpreted as an implied cheating.
Later, on September 8, Chess.com announced that Niemann was banned from the gaming platform for cheating.
The 19-year-old American admitted to cheating twice, at the age of 12 and 16, with computer program support on the site. However, he denied the allegation that he cheated at the tournament.
The young player also said that he can go across the board naked to nullify the allegations:
As Niemann defended himself, “I don’t care because I know I’m clean. I also play in a closed box, in a closed box that cannot receive information from outside. “I came here to win,” he said.
Niemann’s leap in 20 months
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The match played between Viktor Korchnoy and Anatoly Karpov in 1978 was also on the agenda with allegations of cheating.
Chess cheating isn’t the first time, but smartphones have made it easier.
The programs offer players almost perfect moves. For this reason, their use at the chessboard was banned.
But this accusation of Niemann is still described as highly unusual.
Statistician Professor Kenneth Regan is considered a world-class expert in detecting chess cheats.
Regan analyzed Niemann’s plays and found no evidence of cheating.
Due to the lack of evidence, the chess world started looking for scraps of information in the interviews given by the young name.
For some, it was an indication that it was able to enter the top 50 from the 800th place in 20 months.
Among the great masters, British Nigel Short is also skeptical of the allegation of cheating and underlines that there is no evidence of cheating against Carlsen.
The fact that he was under great pressure to succeed might explain Carlsen’s behavior, according to Short.
Carlsen said that he would make a statement at the end of the tournament for the dubious claim that the chess world discussed.