Hans Niemann ‘likely cheated’ in more than 100 games

An investigation found that a chess player at the centre of a cheating scandal “possibly” cheated in more than 100 online games.

Magnus Carlsen, the current world champion, has accused Hans Niemann of cheating, although no proof has been provided.

According to a Chess.com investigation, Niemann has probably cheated “far more often” than he has admitted.

However, it did not uncover any proof that he had cheated in his match with Carlsen or any other “over-the-board” games.

The American has admitted to cheating in casual games in his youth, but he disputes doing so in games that were intended to be competitive.

The BBC has contacted the 19-year-old for comment and he has already accused Carlsen and Chess.com of attempting to destroy his career.

The story started last month after Carlsen, who is widely regarded as the best player of all time, suffered a shocking loss to Niemann at the Sinquefield Cup.

Prior to publicly accusing Niemann of cheating last week, the Norwegian had already levelled subtle charges against him.

Now, Chess.com, where the majority of the world’s best players participate, including for cash prizes, has published a 72-page inquiry of Niemann’s games.

The website, which banned Niemann for alleged cheating, asserts that it is possible he committed fraud as recently as 2020, especially in prize money competitions and when competing against highly regarded “well recognised” figures in the game.

Niemann vigorously denied the allegations when they first surfaced earlier this month, stating he was prepared to play the game while unclothed to demonstrate that he wasn’t using any equipment to cheat.

“I don’t care, because I know I am clean. You want me to play in a closed box with zero electronic transmission, I don’t care. I’m here to win and that is my goal regardless.”

Niemann’s over-the-board games were statistically analysed by Prof. Kenneth Regan, who is widely considered as the world’s foremost authority on chess cheating, and no evidence of cheating was discovered.

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