An investigation into the career of Hans Niemann, the chess grandmaster embroiled in an alleged cheating scandal, has found a disturbingly widespread pattern of suspicious behavior that goes far beyond what the 19-year-old had previously publicly admitted.
The 72-page report, compiled by online platform Chess.com and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, claims Niemann “probably cheated” in more than 100 online matches, including 25 live-streamed games and several played for prize money. The most recent violations discovered in the report occurred in 2020, when Niemann was 17 years old.
Chess.com quietly closed its account that year, with Niemann admitting that he cheated in online matches in a phone conversation with the company’s chief chess officer, according to the report. The platform was only required to publish its findings after Niemann publicly complained last month about his exclusion from the Chess.com Global Championship, a million-dollar awards ceremony.
The report did not accuse Niemann of cheating in classic, personal matches, although it noted the “many notable signals and unusual patterns in Hans’s path” as an over-the-board competitor. Chess.com acknowledged that its technology, used to scrutinize its online play style, could not be extended to the classic form of the game, which is notoriously difficult to monitor for cheating.
The report suggested instead that “further investigation based on the data” was warranted.
Chess charges shake up chess world after champion suffers stunning defeat
The chess world’s governing body, FIDE, is conducting its own investigation into Niemann after Magnus Carlsen, the world No. 1 Norwegian, directly accused Niemann of cheating in a game last month.
“I believe Niemann has cheated more – and more recently – than he has publicly admitted,” the five-time world champion wrote in his first public statement on the matter, published Sept. 26. “His progress in management was unusual, and during our play in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he was not tense or even fully focused on the game in critical positions, while he outplayed me as black in a way I think that only a handful of players can.”
Carlsen was referring to a September 6 game in the Sinquefield Cup, a prestigious tournament in St. Louis. Carlsen came in after a 53-game winning streak and was upset in 57 moves by Niemann, who handled the unfavorable black pieces.
“It must be embarrassing for the world champion to lose to an idiot like me,” the California teenager said at the time. “I feel sorry for him!”
Carlsen then retired from the tournament – the first withdrawal of his career – and threw the chess world into a pandemonium. At the time, his only public statement was a cryptic reference to a football manager who once said, “When I speak, I’m in big trouble,” when asked about foul play.
The rumor only increased a few weeks later, when the pair met for a virtual match on September 19. The Norwegian resigned in protest after making just one move.
After the scandal, Niemann confessed to cheating, but only twice, in online cases that he reached his age, when he was 12 and 16 years old when the incidents supposedly happened.
“I could never, not even comprehend, to do it in a real game,” he added.
Chess.com has a membership of over 90 million, including many elite and ranked players. Architecture, the WSJ reported, is in the process of purchasing Carlsen’s chess training app for nearly $83 million.
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