The world of chess is seeing the biggest scandal it has had in its history. People’s interest in the game of chess has grown monumentally in the past few years. From the chess streams that are a mixture of actual game places and a lot of fun banter to shows capturing the genius of chess like The Queen’s Gambit, there are various interesting twists and turns that a game of chess can take. Well, all those stories can be left behind in light of the newest chess scandal in the market. One that involves anal beads, vibrating socks and now a FIDE investigation. And while it may sound like a plot of a show, this is all that occurred at the Magnus Carlsen vs Hans Niemann at the Sinquefield Cup played in early September. As social media floods with bizarre theories and mind-boggling facts about Hans Niemann, here’s everything you need to know about Magnus Carlsen vs Hans Niemann’s chess match. Magnus Carlsen Beats Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi to Win Julius Baer Cup.
The Setup
Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, the world chess champion, broke his 53-unbeaten matches record with 19-year-old chess grandmaster and Twitch streamer Hans Niemann. After this defeat, in their next tournament meet-up
(in the Julius Baer Generation Cup, an online chess tournament), Carlsen resigned on the second move, leaving chess fans stunned. And these withdrawals led to two main arguments — the insinuation that Niemann cheated and the other rumour that Carlsen just could not handle being defeated by the 19-year-old. This clash led social media to do what it does best — spread chaos.
Carlsen’s Statement
While withdrawing from the championship, Magnus Carlsen insinuated that there is more to the story and he cannot openly speak up about the reason behind his decision. Speaking at the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour on September 22, Carlsen said that he would speak about his one-move resignation against Niemann only after the Julius Baer Generation Cup. After winning the event, on September 27, Carlsen released a detailed statement where he freely spoke about the reasons he believed Niemann cheated in their game. He also claimed that Nieman has cheated more than he has publicly acknowledged.
Get The Full Statement Here
My statement regarding the last few weeks. pic.twitter.com/KY34DbcjLo
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) September 26, 2022
Hans Niemann’s History of Cheating
Well, as we mentioned before, Hans Niemann grew to fame as a Twitch streamer and has been streaming various chess games online. What people also need to know is that the teenager accepted publicly that he has been caught cheating before. He confirmed that he had used computer assistance to win ranked games on Chess.com, despite attesting that the incident occurred when he was 16 and was the “single biggest mistake of my life”.
The Chess.com Involvement
Things began to particularly stir when Chess.com decided to step up and made an important statement — by removing Hans Niemann from the platform. The platform cited that they have shared various detailed evidence for their conclusions and decisions and expected Niemann to respond.
The Chess.com Statement
— Chess.com (@chesscom) September 8, 2022
The Anal Beads Theory
Amidst all these real concerns, the internet was filled with speculations on how Niemann probably cheated in his games against Carlsen. Carlsen’s confirmation that the initial move he played against Niemann was unlike his usual gameplay and Niemann’s ease in tackling the move made him suspicious, paved the way for wild theories. The most prominent one is that Niemann used vibrating anal beads to cheat. Since the initial tournament was streamed live, it would have been fairly easy to get some outside help on how to tackle the match.
The Theories
Currently obsessed with the notion that Hans Niemann has been cheating at the Sinquefield Cup chess tournament using wireless anal beads that vibrate him the correct moves. pic.twitter.com/F48BXjtBlN
— Babble (@Babble____) September 7, 2022
Where We Stand Now
While initially the International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation or FIDE did not pay heed to Carlsen’s claim, they recently issued a statement confirming that these claims will be investigated. FIDE’s Fair Play Commission (FPL) has decided to act ex-officio and create an Investigatory Panel, the International Chess Federation said in a statement.
View Tweet By International Chess Federation
Following the recent developments in the Carlsen-Niemann controversy, FIDE’s Fair Play Commission (FPL) has decided to act ex-officio and create an Investigatory Panel (IP).https://t.co/891rvY6mJR
/thread [1/4] pic.twitter.com/oKf1BrLHbH
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 29, 2022
While the world waits for the findings of this investigation and Hans Niemann continues to maintain a deafening silence on his socials, chess fans on social media are surely at work — trying to put their own investigations together. As we wait for the truth to come out, one thing is clear — this scandal will surely be talked about for decades to come in the chess community.
(The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Oct 02, 2022 03:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).
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