IIn the case of the Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen’s allegations of cheating against his American opponent Hans Niemann, the world chess association Fide has set up a commission of inquiry. The portal “t-online” reported on Thursday, citing the German official Klaus Deventer. Accordingly, in the coming days, a three-person committee from the association’s fair play commission will start investigations. The anti-cheating officer of the German Chess Federation said it would be “investigated in two ways”.
“Are there enough facts?”
“First, we would check: Are there enough facts to justify an allegation of fraud? If we come to the conclusion that this is the case, we would file suit with the Fide Ethics and Disciplinary Committee,” said Deventer. On the other hand, it would also be checked “whether there was a false accusation. We would also report that if necessary.”
Carlsen accuses his US counterparty of fraud: “I think that Niemann – even recently – cheated more than he publicly admitted.” The first incident between the two occurred in early September. At the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, the superstar surprisingly lost to Niemann and withdrew from a tournament for the first time in his career. The 31-year-old Norwegian did not give any reasons at the time. The chess scene interpreted Carlsen’s exit as an allegation of fraud against Niemann. The American admitted in an interview during the Sinquefield Cup that he had cheated twice in online games as a teenager, aged 12 and 16, but never in person at the chessboard.
Carlsen now opined that Niemann’s progress in on-site games was unusual. “During our game at the Sinquefield Cup, I got the impression that he wasn’t fully focused and focused on the game at the crucial stages, while he was dominating me with the black checkers in a way that only a small group of people could believe know. The Sinquefield Cup game helped change my perspective on the subject,” said Carlsen.
