Hans Niemann, 19, was accused of cheating in more than 100 online chess games as recently as 2020, according to a Chess.com investigation. According to the website, it utilized several technologies to identify cheating and discovered “many remarkable signals and unusual patterns in Hans’ path as a player.” One of the tools was analytics, which contrasts a player’s move with suggestions made by chess engines, computer algorithms that analyze games and suggest the optimal course of action.
According to Chess.com, Niemann seemed to perform better after switching to a different screen, pointing to the possibility that he was utilizing a chess engine to generate his moves. Niemann acknowledged having cheated at least twice in the past, once when he was 12 and once when he was 16. In an interview with the Saint Louis Chess Club conducted last month, the teen addressed the incidents and insisted it was “an absolutely ridiculous mistake.” He continued by saying that he had only ever cheated in order to compete against players of the highest caliber and had never done so in any game in which there was prize money.
“I’ve never ever in my life cheated in an over-the-board game,” he said. “… I’m admitting this and and I’m saying my truth because I do not want any misrepresentation. I am proud of myself that I learned from that mistake, and now have given everything to chess I have sacrificed everything for chess and I do everything I can to improve.”
After Niemann defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup last month, the cheating allegation gained momentum. The following day, Carlsen announced his withdrawal from the competition and claimed his rival had cheated.