A Rookie Mistake

UWCSEA Political Review
Nov 24, 2022
3 min read

A case of trickery that has left two grandmasters in an extreme stalemate

By: Mihika Yadav

The vast and whimsical world of chess has been turned on its head following the shocking claims of a young and nifty Grandmaster cheating against the current ‘world’s best chess player’.

19-year-old Grandmaster Hans Niemann first sent the world into a state of frenzy when he defeated Magnus Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup in early September.

World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen, enigmatically withdrew from the tournament making no public remarks apart from posting a provocative video on Twitter. The video showed football manager José Mourinho saying, “If I speak I am in big trouble.”

The thumbnail of a video of football manager José Mourinho posted by Magnus Carlsen

A couple of weeks later, the two were paired together for an online match. After playing one move, Carlsen quit the game as a form of protest against Niemann’s participation.

Provoked by Niemann’s lack of accountability, Carlsen decided to share more about his suspicions against Niemann.

Image of a letter posted by Magnus Carlsen

Carlsen tweeted a letter directed to the ‘Chess World’ in which he says that, “[he] believe[s] that cheating in chess is a big deal and an existential threat to the game.” He also shared that he believes Niemann has cheated more times and more recently than he cares to admit. This was in reference to the 19-year-old Grandmaster’s confession to cheating in small online games as a 12 and 16-year-old. Carlsen added that he feels wrong playing against someone who has cheated repeatedly in the past as he doesn’t know “what they are capable of doing in the future.’

The lengthy statement came to a close with Carlsen revealing that he has more to say but is forbidden from doing this. He ends by sharing that he hopes that the truth can come to light, “whatever it may be”.

Niemann followed this controversial declaration from Carlsen with one of his own, stressing his supposed innocence. Niemann announced that he would be willing to play completely undressed to emphasize his innocence and appease everyone that may doubt him.

Many Grandmasters such as Maurice Ashley and Anton Smirnov have come to Niemann’s defence, claiming that he has been found guilty before being proven innocent. They’ve added that it is not fair for Carlsen to give deluded and partial information while accusing Niemann. Grandmaster Nigel Short called Carlsens’s accusations against Niemann, ‘death by innuendo’, i.e. maligning his image without saying anything explicitly.

Integrity is the driving force of any sport and its importance in the world of chess has been emphasised in light of recent events. Regardless of whether Niemann is found to be solely responsible for his victory in the Sinquefield Cup, his past acts of deceit will have ramifications on the moral aspect of chess. Players may feel that they can cheat and use computer-aided chess engines to compete in online tournaments and still be crowned a Grandmaster.

Many of these tournaments come with a financial reward such as Chess.com’s million-dollar tournament which inevitably changes the morals by which players may participate with. When a monetary reward is introduced, the issue surpasses that of virtue and evolves into something more in line with fraud. This threatens the entire basis of the sport and the prestige by which titles such as Grandmaster and International Master are bestowed.