The continuing chess dishonest scandal now has some greenback indicators connected to it. On Wednesday, burgeoning chess grasp Hans Neimann filed a $100 Million grievance in opposition to five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen over a number of hints and outright allegations of dishonest.
The defamation lawsuit filed in Missouri district court docket takes purpose at not simply Carlsen however at Chess.com and fellow chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, whom Niemann’s lawyer’s declare was “performing in collusion” with Carlsen and Chess.com to amplify the dishonest allegations. Alongside defamation, Niemann alleges his critics dedicated an illegal boycott of him and his video games when Chess.com banned the younger participant from upcoming tournaments and the corporate’s on-line platform.
Gizmodo reached out to Carlsen by way of his father and supervisor Henrik Carlsen however didn’t instantly hear again. We additionally despatched a message to Nakamura’s group, and we’ll replace this submit if we hear again.
So far as Niemann goes, the younger chess grasp had a quite simple assertion on his Twitter.
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All this hubbub about chess dishonest began in September when 31-year-old Norwegian Grandmaster Carlsen withdrew from the St. Louis Sinquefield Cup within the third spherical after dropping to Niemann. That withdrawal brought on sufficient of a stir inside the chess group that folks started to invest it had one thing to do along with his younger opponent. Carlsen threw extra logs on the fireplace with a tweet that appeared to suggest Niemann wasn’t on the extent.
The lawsuit has its personal interpretation of the occasions that unfolded, stating:
“Infamous for his lack of ability to deal with defeat, Carlsen snapped. Enraged that the younger Niemann, totally 12 years his junior, dared to disrespect the “King of Chess,” and fearful that the younger prodigy would additional blemish his multi-million greenback model by beating him once more, Carlsen viciously and maliciously retaliated in opposition to Niemann by falsely accusing Niemann, with none proof, of by some means dishonest throughout their in-person recreation and demanding that the organizers of the Sinquefield Cup instantly disqualify Niemann from the match.”
The lawsuit additional claims Carlsen used his “media empire” to blacklist Niemann from tournaments and defend his personal Play Magnus model, which owns the chess web sites Chess24.com, ichess.internet, and chessable.com. Niemann’s legal professionals declare that Chess.com’s recently-announced $82 million buyout of Play Magnus was a part of the explanation why Chess.com has knocked Niemann so onerous on the dishonest allegations.
In an e mail assertion offered to Gizmodo, Chess.com’s attorneys Nima Mohebbi and Jamie Wine of Latham & Watkins, LLP wrote “Hans confessed publicly to dishonest on-line within the wake of the Sinquefield Cup, and the ensuing fallout is of his personal making. As acknowledged in its October 2022 report, Chess.com had traditionally handled Hans’ prior dishonest privately, and was compelled to make clear its place solely after he spoke out publicly. There isn’t a benefit to Hans’ allegations, and Chess.com appears to be like ahead to setting the file straight on behalf of its group and all trustworthy chess gamers.”
For weeks because the chess scandal unfolded, Carlsen saved relatively silent about any particular allegations, although he saved hinting at it by way of tweets and feedback. Lastly, on the finish of September, Carlsen gave a full assertion clarifying he believed that Niemann “has cheated extra—and extra not too long ago—than he has publicly admitted.” The elder chess grasp pointed to Niemann’s over-the-board progress being “uncommon” whereas he was “outplaying me as black in a means I feel solely a handful of gamers can do.”
In an early September interview, Niemann admitted he cheated at “random video games on Chess.com” when he was 12- and 16-years-old. He additionally accused Carlsen and Nakamura of making an attempt to hurt his profession and inflicting different Twitter customers to dogpile him.
Then in October, Chess.com, one of the prolific chess on-line chess platforms on the earth, claimed in a 72-page report Niemann “probably cheated” in over 100 on-line video games, far more than the younger chess participant had beforehand admitted to. The corporate additionally revoked his invitation to play within the Chess.com International Championship. The lawsuit calls this report “defamatory” however identified that Chess.com admitted it didn’t have proof for Niemann dishonest in over-the-board, AKA in-person, chess.
Nakamura has been one among Niemann’s harshest critics, alleging in a number of Twitch streams and movies on his YouTube channel that there was one thing routinely off about the way in which the 19-year-old chess grasp performs.
The lawsuit claims Nakamura has had an “acrimonious relationship” with the 19-year-old chess grasp from after they each streamed for Chess.com. Niemann’s legal professionals argue Carlsen “enlisted” Nakamura as a co-conspirator to knock Niemann by way of movies and tweeted statements.
The lawsuit claims the accusations have “destroyed” Niemann’s life, limiting the variety of tournaments he can attend and hindering his capability to earn a living from tournaments’ money prizes. The lawsuit additional states that Niemann can’t even get a job as a chess instructor as a result of his status is in tatters. Whether or not all this can actually be definitely worth the $100 million price ticket may rely totally on legal professionals proving these materials and emotional impacts on Niemann’s life.
