Chess star Hans Niemann breaks his silence as he’s cleared of using vibrating anal beads to cheat against world champion Magnus Carlsen
- US prodigy sued his Norwegian rival for $100million but says he is ‘invigorated’ after dropping the suit
- Chess body insists he cheated online but welcomes him back
- Stage now set for epic rematch against the world number one
The chess prodigy who was accused of using ‘anal beads’ to beat the world champion says he is ‘invigorated’ and ready for a re-match after being cleared to play.
Hans Niemann sued Norway’s Magnus Carlsen for $100million for ruining his career after the world champion suggested he cheated his way to a stunning victory against him at a tournament in 2020.
The sport was rocked by rumors that a chess coach had told the 20-year-old what moves to play by sending buzzes to a sex toy hidden in his body.
The lawsuit was dismissed in the summer and Niemann has now reached agreement with the sport’s online platform chess.com, setting the stage for an avidly anticipated rematch.
‘Hullo chess world, did you miss me?’ Niemann said on Twitter as he announced his return.
‘No matter how much you try to blacklist me, no matter what you do to try to ruin my career or slander my reputation, these difficult times have only strengthened my resolve and character and have only invigorated me even more to reach the top of chess.
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen (pictured at the 44th Chess Olympiad in 2022), currently the world’s top ranked chess player, accused Niemann of cheating
Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann (pictured) has officially been cleared of allegations made by a rival that he used vibrating anal beads to cheat
‘I think it’s time to let my chess speak for itself.’
The self-taught grandmaster from San Francisco was rocketing up the world rankings when he was drawn to play against Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup last September in St Louis, Missouri.
But with Carlsen playing white and given the first move, few expected to see Niemann’s powerful defense dismantle his opponent and claim the game.
‘It must be embarrassing for the world champion to lose to me,’ he told reporters.
‘I feel bad for him!’
He credited a ‘ridiculous miracle’, for his victory, claiming he had watched a video of Carlsen using a similar game plan in a game four years earlier that morning.
Critics claimed the explanation did not hold water and Carlsen withdrew from the tournament, with a cryptic tweet of Portuguese football manager José Mourinho saying: ‘If I speak, I’m in big trouble, and I don’t want to be in big trouble.’
The organizers immediately beefed-up security measures including a 15-minute delay in the broadcast of the moves and increased radio-frequency identification checks as rumors swirled that Niemann had cheated.
Chess bloggers jokingly suggested that some players had used ‘anal beads’ for years, a rumor which was amplified by Elon Musk with a misquote from German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer.
Turn around please! Moment teen chess grandmaster Hans Niemann – accused of using anal beads to cheat – gets ALL OVER body scan as he enters US championship game
‘Talent hits a target no one else can hit, genius hits a target no one can see (cause it’s in your butt),’ the Tesla boss tweeted.
A week later, Carlsen fueled the scandal when he resigned after just one move in an online match against Niemann.
‘Do any fair play checking you want, I don’t care because I know that I’m clean,’ Niemann furiously said in an interview after his win.
He added that he’d be happy to play a game of chess while naked: ‘They want me to strip fully naked? I’ll do it.
‘I don’t care because I know that I’m clean and I’m willing to subject myself to what you want me to play.’
As the rumors mounted Niemann underwent a humiliating 90-second body-scan in front of laughing spectators before entering a tournament a few weeks later.
Chess.com banned Niemann and later published a report saying he had likely cheated more than 100 times in online games.
The prodigy admitted to cheating online between the ages of 12 and 16, but he denied any wrongdoing while contesting over-the-board games.
And he sued Carlsen, the website, and Japanese grandmaster for defamation, claiming that Carlsen paid another grandmaster €300 to shout ‘Cheater Hans’ from a public balcony during a tournament.
That lawsuit was thrown out by a Missouri judge in June but Chess.com said it had readmitted Niemann on Monday after he promised no further legal action against it.
‘We have reached an agreement with Hans Niemann to put our differences behind us and move forward together without further litigation,’ the website said in a statement.
‘We would also like to reaffirm that we stand by the findings in our October 2022 public report regarding Hans, including that we found no determinative evidence that he has cheated in any in-person games.’
The 32-year-old world champion gave a frosty response to the settlement, saying: ‘I acknowledge and understand Chess.com’s report, including its statement that there is no determinative evidence that Niemann cheated in his game against me at the Sinquefield Cup.
‘I am willing to play Niemann in future events, should we be paired together.’
The 20-year-old chess prodigy has competed in tournaments all over the world, taking part in his first US rated tournament when he was just eight years old. He is pictured at a match in 2013 and right in 2014, at age 10, when he became the youngest winner of the Mechanics Institute Chess Club tournament in its 159-year history
As an eighth grade student in 2017, Niemann won first place in a local chess championship. He is pictured playing with friend Gavin Spandow, who described Hans as ‘fiercely competitive and far from humble’
Niemann said he will repeat his victory when the rematch takes place.
‘I look forward to competing against Magnus at chess rather than in court,’ he said in his video.
‘I would like to reaffirm my opinion that the chess.com report was defamatory and I challenge their allegations.
‘There will be a day when I will be the best chess player in the world.’
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