The game that Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen are playing off the boards takes on a new dimension. The Californian, who yesterday finished ninth at the US Open, has filed a lawsuit against the number one in the world, the portal chess.com and Hikaru Nakamura in which he asks for an amount of money for damages that will be determined in the trial, but that starts from a figure greater than 400 million dollars and that “it would never be less” than 100. “Niemann is a 19-year-old self-taught chess prodigy. With this action, he seeks to recover from the devastating damage that the defendants have inflicted on his reputation, career and life atrociously defaming him and illegally colluding to put him on the blacklist of the profession to which he has dedicated his life”, the text beginswhich Niemann himself has shared through his social networks, accompanied by a resounding message: “The demand speaks for itself.”
Ever since Carlsen fell to Niemann in the Sinquefield Cup, ending his 53-game unbeaten streak, chess has been engulfed by a fire that accumulates chapters without ceasing. The latter, the largest. The world champion insinuated that the young American talent had cheated (something that, through a video analyzing the game, also supported Nakamura, 6th in the world) and, since then, the hypotheses, the exchange of opinions and the leaks have multiplied, until reaching this point of no return.
“If they want me to get completely naked and play like this, I will. I don’t care because I know I’m clean. I cheated in random games of chess.combut I confessed it”, argued Niemann to defend himself. Three weeks after these statements, The Wall Street Journal published a report specifying the alleged cheating movements of the North American on the virtual platform. The document, leaked by the company itself, stated that Hans “probably received illegal assistance in more than 100 online games.” All this, while Chess.com is in the process of comparing, for 83 million dollars, Play Magnus, another digital portal whose main shareholder is Carlsen himself. “In August 2022, chess.com agreed to acquire Play Magnus and merge the two companies to monopolize the world of chess. Carlsen, having solidified his position as the ‘king of chess’, believes that when it comes to chess, he can do whatever he wants and get away with it.” the demand in this regard.
Niemann’s mentor already warned
Maxim Dlugy, Niemann’s coach until the age of 14 and later a mentor, already hinted this week the possibility that the confrontation would reach justice. “To save my reputation, I think the best way is to go to court. What Magnus did is absolutely ridiculous and very bad for chess. There will be trials. If I had to bet, I’d say Hans will sue. I am ready to fight. I am ready to call things by their name. I can’t take it anymore”, he declared in an interview given to Der Spiegelhaving also been accused of cheating in Chess.com. His words take shape.
