Hans Niemann ‘likely cheated’ more than 100 times, says Chess.com investigation

Hans Niemann has been accused of cheating by Magnus Carlsen and Chess.com platform. Image: Twitter/Chess24

Chess world champion Magnus Carlsen had last month accused Hans Niemann of cheating in controversial times for the sport. In reply, the American acknowledged he did cheat but as a 12 and 16 year old in online competitions. He claimed, he hadn’t cheated more than that or ever since.

Explained | Magnus Carlsen vs Hans Niemann, the chess cheating controversy

“I believe that Niemann has cheated more—and more recently—than he has publicly admitted,” Carlsen said in a statement on Twitter.

Now, an investigation into Niemann’s play — conducted by Chess.com, an online platform where many top players compete — has found the scope of his cheating to be far wider and longer-lasting.

Chess.com had banned the American from its platform after he privately confessed to the allegations of cheating.

The 72-page investigation report alleges Niemann likely received illegal assistance in more than 100 online games, as recently as 2020. Those matches included contests in which there was prize money at stake.

Of the 100-plus suspect games, 25 were being live streamed. The report found he was 17 years old during the most recent violations. Niemann was told of impropriety in a phone call and later in Slack messages where he discussed a possible return to the site with chief chess officer Danny Rensch.

In a letter Rensch wrote to Niemann, he detailed that the suspicious moves coincided with moments when he had opened up a different screen on his computer — implying he was consulting a chess engine for the best move.

The report also startlingly says dozens of grandmasters have been caught cheating on the platform, including four of the top-100 players who have confessed.

The controversy erupted in early September at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, where Niemann shocked Carlsen while playing with the black pieces, considered a disadvantage.

The Norwegian World No 1 then abruptly quit the tournament. Though Carlsen didn’t accuse Niemann of cheating at the time, the chess community interpreted his action as a protest.

The pair met again in an online event weeks later, and Carlsen resigned after making just one move. Days later, the world No. 1 publicly confirmed his suspicions of Niemann.

“I believe that Niemann has cheated more—and more recently—than he has publicly admitted,” Carlsen wrote in his first public statement on the matter on 26 September.

“His over the board progress has been unusual, and throughout our game in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he wasn’t tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions, while outplaying me as black in a way I think only a handful of players can do.”

The report highlighted how Chess.com tries to detect cheating, including tools such as: analytics that compare moves to those recommended by chess engines; studies of a player’s past performance and strength profile; behaviour monitoring such as opening up other browsers while playing; and input from grandmaster fair play analysts.

Identifying violations in over-the-board games, the classic format of the sport, remains a major challenge. The main reason being that grandmasters who cheat require very little assistance.

For an elite-level player, a couple of subtle moves in critical spots can be enough to tilt the balance. That makes definitively proving allegations difficult unless a player is caught in the act — a phone in the bathroom, wearing a small earpiece or receiving signals from someone in the audience.

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