The controversy over the Hans Niemann – Magnus Carlsen case is not stopping. After Hans Niemann defeated the World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the third round of the Sinquefield Cup 2022, Carlsen decided to withdraw from the tournament without detailed explanations. Rumors that Magnus Carlsen suspected Niemann was cheating started spreading over social media, and each day brings new theories on the case. See the timetable of happenings related to Carlsen’s withdrawal from the event:
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The newest allegations on social media are connected with Niemann’s play in the last two years. Hikaru Nakamura and Daniel Naroditsky spoke about Niemann’s meteoric rise from 2400 to 2700 rating, which is found untypical in the social medias. Now, we can see claims that Hans Niemann’s results were better when he played in the tournaments with the live DGT transmission: “Hans Niemann’s results in the US in 2019-2020 before going to Europe. There have been talks (including Punin’s recent video) about Hans performing much better when there are live DGT games. The data is below – draw your own conclusions!”. See the tweet below
Alexander Grischuk and Nigel Davies have opinions on both sides of the spectrum. GM Grischuk says about Niemann – Carlsen case: Magnus freaked out for a reason. GM Davies says, If Carlsen does not speak soon, the FIDE Ethics Commission should act.
Susan Polgar explained a few days ago that the professional reputation of many parties is at stake with the ongoing controversy. Commenting on the newest allegations related to the case, Susan Polgar said: “Another day, another angle. I just don’t see this ending any time soon. There will be those who believe, and those who will never be convinced. To avoid any potential issue, it would be helpful to have 30 minute broadcast delay, especially important events“.
Sinquefield Cup improved anti-cheating measures after rumors and speculations that overwhelmed medias with Carlsen’s withdrawal from the event. All the players are being thoroughly checked with anti-cheating devices before and after the game and the live broadcast of the games is delayed for 15 minutes.
