An nameless reader quotes a report from CNBC: Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann filed a $100 million lawsuit towards world champion Magnus Carlsen and others for alleged defamatory statements claiming that Niemann cheated in competitors. The swimsuit claims that the defendants, together with Chess.com, inflicted “devastating damages” towards Niemann by “egregiously defaming him” and “unlawfully colluding” to bar him from the skilled chess world. “My lawsuit speaks for itself,” Niemann stated Thursday in a Twitter post.
Niemann, 19, has admitted to dishonest on two events, as soon as when he was 12 years previous and a second time when he was 16. However he denied claims that he cheated in an over-the-board match towards Magnus Carlsen this yr. Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup in September after shedding to Niemann, and ultimately got here ahead with issues that Niemann had cheated within the match by which he defeated Carlsen. The swimsuit claims that Carlsen’s feedback have been a retaliatory try and hold Niemann from damaging his status. Chess.com subsequently banned Niemann after reporting that an inner investigation revealed proof of extra dishonest than Niemann’s public statements had expressed.
The report from Chess.com didn’t discover proof of dishonest in Niemann’s over-the-board matches, together with the match towards Carlsen, although the web site notes that its dishonest detection is primarily used for on-line matches. The report does, nonetheless, allege that Niemann probably cheated in over 100 on-line chess video games, together with a number of prize cash occasions. It additionally reveals that Niemann’s Chess.com “Energy Rating” sits within the vary of over a dozen nameless grandmasters who’ve admitted to dishonest. The report additionally notes that Niemann is by far the fastest-rising participant by yearly acquire in classical over-the-board chess. The lawsuit is out there in full right here (PDF).
