He had beaten the gifted nicknamed “the child-king of chess” and sparked a worldwide controversy. American chess player Hans Niemann filed a lawsuit in the United States on Thursday against those who accuse him of cheating, including his Norwegian rival the champion Magnus Carlsen, claiming $100 million in damages.
The 19-year-old, a prodigy according to those close to him, has filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in Missouri against the five-time world champion and other players in the chess world, including the chess.com platform, whom he accuses of “defamation” and “collusion”.
Their allegations “nipped in the bud his remarkable career and ruined his life”, write his lawyers in this complaint. Hans Niemann has been excluded from many competitions and “can no longer get a job as a chess teacher in serious schools”, they say.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced the opening of an investigation into the accusations of cheating launched by the five-time Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen against the young American prodigy Hans Niemann.
He admits having cheated young but says he is ready to play naked
The complaint is the young chess master’s most notable act since the outbreak of what his lawyers call “the biggest scandal in chess history.” It all started on September 5 when the young American beat the Norwegian star in the Sinquefield Cup in the United States. Magnus Carlsen then withdrew from the tournament, accusing him of cheating.
His claims were later echoed by American player Hikaru Nakamura and the world’s leading online chess platform, chess.com, who said the young grandmaster “probably cheated” at least 100 times online. In his complaint, Hans Niemann accuses his detractors of having acted in a concerted manner out of financial interest. “Fearing that the young prodigy would endanger his multi-millionaire brand by inflicting further defeats on him, Carlsen took revenge by accusing him without proof,” write his lawyers.
Carlsen, gifted and child king of the game, has, according to them, benefited from the support of the site chess.com because he is in the process of selling him his company Play Magnus for 83 million dollars. As for Hikaru Nakamura, “he is the most influential streaming partner of chess.com”, they assure.
Hans Niemann admitted to cheating on chess.com when he was between 12 and 16 years old, but denied having continued and said he was “ready to play naked” to prove his skill. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) opened an investigation on September 29 to shed light on this affair.