Over the past month, the chess community has been embroiled in arguments surrounding
the allegations levied against Hans Niemann, a nineteen-year-old rising player, by Magnus
Carlsen, who has won the world championship title five times. The way that discussions of the
allegations so quickly gripped the two parallel chess communities—both the traditional
over the board (OTB) organisations such as the International Chess Federation (FIDE), as well as online groups composed of streamers, commentators, and fans—has had no real precedent in chess history. Nor does the way the controversy permeated into general popular culture, with the myriad memes and jokes referencing the hilarious theories of how Niemann allegedly cheated—most notably, the “vibrating anal beads theory,” which purports that Niemann had received engine moves from beads located inside his rectum which communicated the best move’s algebraic notation in vibratory morse code. Indeed, conversations surrounding the rear-ends of chess players seem rather out of character for a centuries old game that is usually viewed as quite austere and traditional. This raises the questions: how did this controversy arise, and why has it become such a hot topic?
There is no doubt that Niemann’s personality plays a large role in this controversy. The young prodigy has grown up entirely within chess’s new generational paradigm and has made a career through streaming his growth as a player online. As opposed to older generations of players, who rose to prominence primarily through over the board tournaments. Niemann’s style—both on the chessboard and off it—has thus been uniquely rousing. His recent feud with Carlsen began in August, where after having beaten the world champion in a rapid match in the FTX Crypto Cup, he refused the customary post-game interview, opting instead to simply state that “the chess speaks for itself” and then storm off. Debates ensued over Niemann’s conduct, with some lauding him for bringing an air of youthful vigour and some playful sardonicism to the game and others decrying his actions as tasteless and disrespectful.
Niemann slowly faded out of the spotlight until a spectacular victory—with the black
pieces no less—against Carlsen in the esteemed Sinquefield Cup, on 4 September 2022. Unlike his earlier victory, Niemann had now beaten Carlsen in an OTB classical game, as opposed to the shorter rapid games he had played before, ending Carlsen’s fifty-three game unbeaten streak, and shocking the chess world. The next day, Carlsen tweeted that he was withdrawing from the tournament, including in the tweet a link to an infamous clip of José Mourinho where the former Chelsea coach said “I prefer not to speak. If I speak, I am in big trouble. Big big trouble. And I do not want to be in big trouble.” Though the tweet may have been cryptic to most, those with insight into Carlsen’s decision understood its implicit meaning: Carlsen withdrew because he believed that Niemann was cheating.
In tweeting this seemingly innocuous statement, Carlsen had opened the floodgates. Other top chess players quickly entered the fray, scrutinizing Niemann’s play and post-game analysis, as well as drawing attention to his past cheating on the largest online chess platform, Chess.com. Niemann denied the allegations in a spirited interview, where he admitted to cheating online in the distant past, but emphatically stated that he has never cheated in an over the board game. Despite this, Carlsen continuously refuses to play Niemann, even resigning after one move in a subsequent game between the two. Carlsen has since published a written statement outlining his suspicions and the reasons for his withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup. Chess.com has also published their own seventy four-page report, detailing Niemann’s history of cheating on their platform. It should be noted that cheating online is far easier than cheating over the board, as the latter requires some sophisticated technological aid, or some other method of signalling between the player and an assisting party.
The implications that this scandal has had for the chess world are simply monumental. Online cheating has long been acknowledged as a problem, but the possibility of over the board
cheating at the highest level has not been seriously considered since the Topalov-Kramnik
controversy in 2007. In a time where even outdated chess engines have long since surpassed the abilities of top-rated human players, it is of paramount importance that players are competing unassisted so as to preserve the sanctity and integrity of the confrontation of minds that chess is meant to represent. Anyone with basic knowledge of how to use a chess engine could beat the best players in the world if only they were allowed to use their phone during a game. This is why nearly all tournaments have implemented security measures including metal detectors, and
stream delays during live broadcasts of games. These recent allegations have raised two main
questions: firstly, are these security measures enough, and secondly, if they are, how—if at all—did Niemann cheat? Many facetious quips have drawn attention to the predicament that the chess world is in. Should players be made to play in a Faraday cage, or even naked? More seriously, owing to the subtlety with which cheating can be done, such as using an engine for only one critical move in a game, is it possible to detect cheating in chess purely from a statistical analysis of the game? These questions remain unanswered, but they highlight the increasing tensions between the ancient game and the innovations of our modern world. Chess will certainly adapt, but as to the manner and speed in which it does, only time itself will tell.