[imagesource: Crystal Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club]

Another day, another level of the cheating scandal that is rocking the chess world peeled back.

As an aside, the world of competitive fishing and the poker community are grappling with their own cheating controversies.

But let’s get back to Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen (above right and left respectively), the two names at the centre of the chess drama.

Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating during their match in early September. He didn’t outright say it at first, dropping hints on social media and letting the whispers grow into a cacophony, before releasing an official statement this week explicitly levelling cheating allegations at Niemann.

All the while, the ‘vibrating anal beads’ theory has been a popular talking point, despite a lack of concrete evidence, and we’ve discussed that already.

It has emerged that Niemann’s coach, Maxim Dlugy, was banned from Chess.com in 2017 and 2020 for repeatedly cheating in its tournaments and now Niemann himself has been further exposed.

This from The New York Post:

Conducted and released by Chess.com, a 72-page report alleges that the 19-year-old champion likely received illegal assistance in more than 100 online games, the latest of which occurred as recently as 2020. Those matches included contests in which prize money was awarded.

Niemann has publicly admitted to cheating on the sport’s biggest online platform twice, when he was 12 and 16, but stressed that those were the only occasions and he deeply regrets his actions.

His meteoric ascent into the world’s top 50 over the past four years is now being scrutinised in minute detail.

Today we released our official report on Hans Niemann, Magnus Carlsen, and cheating in chess. Read it here: https://t.co/HeDTReeAPe

— Chess.com (@chesscom) October 4, 2022

In the report, which you can read via that link above, it’s claimed that Niemann admitted to cheating repeatedly on the platform:

Chess.com uses a variety of cheat-detection tools that draw on analytics to compare moves to those recommended by chess engines, which can beat even the greatest human chess players.

While Chess.com was not able to look into any of Niemann’s over-the-table or in-person matches, it did describe irregularities in his rise through the elite ranks of competitive chess.

The site called Niemann’s online results “statistically extraordinary” and pointed to “many remarkable signals and unusual patterns in Hans’ path as a player”.

With regards to his in-person matches, the International Chess Federation is conducting its own investigation.

Niemann was initially very outspoken after beating Carlsen. He has yet to respond to Carlsen’s allegations, as well as the report released last night.

[source:nypost]