Niemann sues Carlsen, Chess.com and others for 'colluding to blacklist' him

Hans Niemann, who has been embroiled in a cheating scandal, has sued world champion Magnus Carlsen and others seeking $100 million in damages.

The 19-year-old American grandmaster filed the lawsuit in the Eastern Missouri District Court which says that defendants are “colluding to blacklist” him from the chess world. The lawsuit also lists Carlsen's online chess platform Play Magnus, Chess.com executive Danny Rensch and American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura as defendants.

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The suit further says that tournament organizers have shunned him since five-time world champion Carlsen publicly accused him of cheating.

“This is not a game,” Niemann’s lawyers, Terrence Oved and Darren Oved, said in a statement. “Defendants have destroyed Niemann’s life simply because he had the talent, dedication and audacity to defeat the so-called ‘King of Chess.’ We will hold defendants fully accountable and expose the truth.”

Carlsen lost to Niemann and later withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Missouri in September, leading to a furore of comments and allegations, including from Nakamura, that the American had cheated.

A few weeks later, the Norwegian resigned after just one move against Niemann in an online tournament and said in September he believed the American had "cheated more - and more recently - than he has publicly admitted".

Lawyers for Chess.com released a statement Thursday saying that there was no merit to Niemann's allegations and that the company was saddened by his decision to take legal action.

"Hans confessed publicly to cheating online in the wake of the Sinquefield Cup, and the resulting fallout is of his own making," the statement read.

"Chess.com looks forward to setting the record straight on behalf of its team and all honest chess players."

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Niemann was banned by Chess.com after the first match against Carlsen and a report published earlier this month said he had likely cheated more than 100 times in online games.

He had admitted to Chess.com that he had not played fairly in non-competitive games on the website in his youth after which he was banned by Chess.com. However, he has denied any wrongdoing while contesting over-the-board games.

His lawsuit said that Chess.com "banned Niemann from its website and all of its future events, to lend credence to Carlsen's unsubstantiated and defamatory accusations of cheating".

"Carlsen, having solidified his position as the 'King of Chess,' believes that when it comes to chess, he can do whatever he wants and get away with it," the complaint added.