Hans Niemann 'likely cheated' in more than 100 games, investigation finds

The chess world was rocked when world no.1 Magnus Carlsen accused American grandmaster Hans Niemann of cheating and refused to play against him last month. Now an investigation conducted by Chess.com has found Niemann 'likely cheated' in more than 100 online games.

However, the investigation found no evidence Niemann had cheated against Carlsen or in any 'over the board' games.It found Niemann received 'likely illegal assistance' in more games than he has previously disclosed, some with prize money at stake.

The investigation contradicts the American grandmaster's denial of cheating accusations. Though he had admitted to cheating in informal games when he was 12 and 16, he had denied the allegations of using unfair means in any competitive games.

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Niemann, who has had a meteoric rise in chess over the last few years, first came under the scanner after he defeated world champion Carlsen while playing with the black pieces at the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis. Many alleged the American had cheated in the game with Carlsen abruptly withdrawing from the tournament, in what was seen as a mark of protest.

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Two weeks later, Carlsen matched against Niemann once again in an online tournament and decided to resign after making just one move. He later went on to accuse the 19-year-old of cheating on more occasions than he admits. The world champions said he was not willing to 'play against people that have cheated repeatedly in the past'.

In a 72-pagereport that has been made public, Chess.com, the most popular chess website in the world,has supported Carlsen's accusations against the American grandmaster. The investigation was conducted using cheating-detection tools and comparing players' moves to those suggested by powerful supercomputers.

During the investigation, some of Niemann's moves were found to be stronger than the best players.While the report stated that some of the results were 'statistically extraordinary', it added that there was no 'direct evidence' that Niemann cheated in any over-the-board games in the past, including against Carlsen.

However, the investigation found that the American cheated in online matches till as recently as 2020, including against some 'well known' figures.

"Overall, we have found that Hans has likely cheated in more than 100 online chess games, including several prize money events. He was already 17 when he likely cheated in some of these matches and games. He was also streaming in 25 of these games," the report stated.

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Chess.com also said there were 'anomalies' in Niemann's growth as far as rankings were concerned. The American grandmaster has risen from being in the top 800 in the world to being in the top 50 in just a couple of years.

Meanwhile, FIDE - the world chess governing body has said it will set up a three-person panel to conduct an investigation into the cheating allegations made by Carlsen against Niemann.

“The focus of the investigation would be twofold: checking the world champion’s claims of alleged cheating by Niemann and Niemann’s self-statement regarding online cheating. The panel will ensure a fair ruling, protecting the rights of both parties during the investigation," FIDE said in a statement.