Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann filed a lawsuit Thursday against Norweigan adversary Magnus Carlsen after he and other parties alleged that Niemann cheated.
The 19-year-old American chess guru is seeking $100 million in damages, alleging that Carlsen, 31, his company Play Magnus Group, Chess.com executive Daniel Rensch and Japanese-American chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura conspired to destroy his reputation and livelihood, according to the court filing.
“Enraged that the young Niemann, fully 12 years his junior, dared to disrespect the ‘King of Chess,’ and fearful that the young prodigy would further blemish his multi-million dollar brand by beating him again, Carlsen viciously and maliciously retaliated against Niemann by falsely accusing Niemann,
without any evidence, of somehow cheating during their in-person game and demanding that the
organizers of the Sinquefield Cup immediately disqualify Niemann from the tournament,” the document stated.
Niemann further accused Chess.com, Rensch, and Nakamura of colluding with Carlsen to amplify his cheating claims.
“Carlsen unleashed his media empire to fan the flames of Carlsen’s cheating accusations,” the filing said.
The complaint said the defendants attacked Niemann’s reputation and his livelihood, and that his sole means of supporting himself since the age of 16 was money made from teaching chess and participating in Chess tournaments, CBS News noted.
The full scale chess war is on! GM Hans Niemann has just filed a lawsuit against Magnus Carlsen, chessdotcom, IM Danny Rensch, GM Hikaru Nakamura, and PlayMagnus! This is getting serious! @FIDE_chess @ECUonline @chessdom pic.twitter.com/c3eTKkbNk0
— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) October 20, 2022
Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating in September after Niemann ended his 53-game streak in the Sinquefield Cup. Following the allegations, Chess.com uninvited Niemann to its Global Championship and released a 72-page report accusing him of “likely cheating” in online matches. (RELATED: The Media’s Female African Chess ‘Prodigy’ Is Actually Nothing Of The Sort)
The accusations also prompted others in the chess world to come up with wild rumors, such as Niemann using a rectally inserted sex toy to assist him, the New York Post noted. The gossip spread after Canadian chess grandmaster Eric Hansen jokingly said in an online forum that someone must have been sending Niemann vibrating signals through a wireless device in his butt, according to the outlet.