The Carlsen – Niemann controversy is top news in mass media

After Hans Niemann defeated the World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the third round of the Sinquefield Cup 2022, Carlsen decided to withdraw from the tournament giving no detailed explanations. Rumors that Magnus Carlsen suspected Niemann was cheating started spreading over social media and the controversy over the Niemann – Carlsen got massive developments. Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann met again at the Julius Baer Generation Cup, when Carlsen kind of confirmed he is suspicious about Niemann’s fair play – he resigned in the second move. Carlsen’s resignation was the top story in Norwegian newspapers, but not only… Cheating allegations and the recent chess drama became the top story of news channels, magazines, and newspapers worldwide, among them: CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, Vice, DW News, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Ney York Times etc.

While Niemann spoke on the case on several occasions and confessed he cheated in online games, the World Chess Champion did not have many public announcements since then. Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann met again at the Julius Baer Generation Cup, when Carlsen kind of confirmed he is suspicious about Niemann’s fair play – he resigned the game in the second move and went offline (see the complete timetable on the bottom of the page). Just yesterday, Carlsen published the official statement on the topic, publicly saying that he believes Niemann was cheating more – and more recent than he publicly admitted. The statement has once again put the chess world on fire, and here are some of the reports on it:

CNN: “Chess world champion Magnus Carlsen explicitly accuses rival Hans Niemann of cheating”
CNN writes that World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen explicitly accused Hans Niemann of cheating with the published statement. They add that Carlsen’s statement is just the latest twist in a saga that has consumed the chess world since Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup 2022 after losing his R3 game against Niemann: “Carlsen’s statement is the latest twist in a saga which has consumed the chess world since his defeat to Niemann and subsequent withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup“.

BBC News: Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann: Chess champion accuses opponent of cheating
BBC writes that World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen previously made veiled accusations against Niemann, but for the first time openly accused Hans Niemann of cheating with the official statement. “Grandmaster Nigel Short, the only British player to compete in the final of the world championships, told the BBC last week he was sceptical about the claims of foul play, saying there was no evidence Niemann cheated in his victory over Carlsen”, adds BBC.

VICE: Magnus Carlsen: Hans Niemann ‘Has Cheated More—and More Recently—Than He Has Publicly Admitted’
Jason Koebler reports for VICE that Magnus Carlsen officially accused Hans Niemann of cheating with the “scathing” statement he published yesterday, but still hasn’t offered any proof. “While the statement is the first in which Carlsen has explicitly said he believes Niemann is a cheater, there are still no specifics about how Carlsen believes he cheated, or whether he has any explicit proof. Niemann has been caught cheating in online chess before, and was banned from Chess.com after Niemann beat Carlsen earlier this month. Last week, the CEO of Chess.com told Motherboard that it could not yet comment on what it knows, but said that it looks forward to one day providing more specifics“, concludes VICE journalist Jason Koebler.

DW News: Carlsen expands on ‘cheating’ suspicions against Niemann
DW News writes about Magnus Carlsen’s statement saying that “Carlsen on Monday broke his near-silence after dominating chess discussions for the better part of three weeks with his cryptic allegations that 19-year-old US player Hans Niemann may have cheated in a shock victory against Carlsen at the beginning of September“. DW News adds that it’s not clear if Carlsen or his allies have any proof for allegations against Niemann.

Al Jazeera: Chess champion Magnus Carlsen accuses Hans Niemann of cheating
Al Jazeera reports on Magnus Carlsen’s official statement explaining that the “chess superstar Magnus Carlsen has for the first time openly accused American player Hans Niemann of cheating“. They add that the chess world has been drowned in controversy ever since Carlsen’s withdrawal from Sinquefield Cup 2022. “Niemann has not yet commented on the allegations“, concludes Al Jazeera.

The Guardian: Magnus Carlsen publicly accuses Hans Niemann of more cheating
“Magnus Carlsen has broken his silence on the scandal that has rocked chess by accusing Hans Niemann of cheating more – and more recently – than he has publicly admitted”, writes The Guardian. They add that Carlsen made his feelings clear with the statement and that they contacted Niemann’s representatives for comment.