“I am not willing to play chess with Niemann” Carlsen on the cheating scandal
After a record-breaking result at the Julius Baer Generation Cup, Magnus Carlsen decided to make a statement – as promised – on the Niemann situation, in which the World Champion directly accused Hans of cheating.
Magnus Carlsen has finally broken his silence and spoke up his truth, in great caution, due to the possibility of facing an investigation by FIDE, or potentially legal action from Hans Niemann, over the allegations. Because, guess what... it was about cheating after all!
In his statement Magnus shares his frustration with the chess world and directly accuses Niemann of cheating “more – and more recently – than he admits”. Niemann indeed admitted to cheating on chesscom twice, but chesscom published a statement saying that he wasn’t telling the entire truth. Magnus unfolded his thoughts even more saying that Niemann’s OTB progress has been unusual, and throughout their game in the Sinquefield Cup, he had the impression that Niemann wasn’t tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions, while outplaying him as black in a way he thinks only a handful of players can do.
Prior to that the World Champion mentions that when Niemann was invited last minute to the Sinquefield Cup he strongly considered withdrawing prior to the event. “I ultimately chose to play,” Magnus said, and continued: “We must do something about cheating, and for my part going forward. I don’t want to play against people that have cheated repeatedly in the past, because I don’t know what they are capable of doing in the future. [...] So far I have only been able to speak with my actions, and those actions have stated clearly that I’m not willing to play chess with Niemann.”
After Magnus’ statement, Twitter once more bifurcated.
