By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) – Chess great Magnus Carlsen will play Hans Niemann at the Speed Chess Championship (SCC) final four in their first meeting since the former world champion hinted the then American teenager had cheated in an over-the-board game two years ago.
World number one Carlsen and Niemann will meet in Friday’s semi-finals while France’s Alireza Firouzja and world number two Hikaru Nakamura will play in the other last-four match, looking to qualify for Sunday’s showdown at an e-sport arena in Paris.
The matches will be played online, but with all players present and sitting close to each other.
At the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, Niemann beat Carlsen with the black pieces and the Norwegian withdrew from the tournament, issuing a statement implying his opponent had cheated, which led the American to sue Carlsen and others for defamation before all parties resolved the matter.
Shortly after the controversy broke, Carlsen had resigned against Niemann after making only one move in an online tournament, effectively refusing to play.
Niemann filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen and Chess.com in October 2022 after the allegations that he had cheated.
A U.S. judge dismissed the lawsuit in June last year.
“This match is literally what people have been asking for for two years. This whole thing is what everybody wanted after the controversy including people who know nothing about chess,” Danny Rensch, Chief Chess Officer of Chess.com, said.
Niemann’s progression since has been remarkable as the 21-year-old broke into the world’s top 20 and qualified for the SCC finals.
“(My main feeling is) pure serenity. Very calm. I will enjoy every second,” Niemann, who admitted to cheating online when he was 12 and 16,” said. He has always denied cheating in over-the-board games.
The event is organised by chess.com, which the American sued after it produced a report in 2022 saying he had likely cheated in more than 100 online chess games, including several prize money events before 2020.
DAMAGED CAREER
“Chess.com’s ridiculous report and (the accusations) lacked any substance. I fought for the truth and I have no regrets,” Niemann, whose $100 million lawsuit was dismissed by a Missouri federal court un June last year, added.
Chess.com was not immediately available for comment.
“My career has been irreversibly damaged by the false accusations,” he added, referring to the fact he could not take part in the most prestigious tournaments for which players need an invitation.
“Carlsen brought himself into disgrace by ruining a 19-year-old’s kid life with false accusations. I would say he has tainted his legacy and his character by doing that. Day-by-day by achieving more and more the reality of what happened will become clearer and clearer.”
Carlson was not willing to engage in further discussions about the dispute.
“I’ve talked about this with a lot of details in a documentary that’s coming so I don’t want to elaborate on that,” said the 33-year-old Carlsen, who showed little excitement about the match.
He added: “I participated in a knockout event in which he also participated in and we’re in the same side of the bracket… which means we know meet, those are the facts. That’s what we’re dealing with.”
Carlsen and Niemann were standing next to each other at the players meeting but did not exchange a word.
“It’s no secret I would have wished for another opponent,” Carlsen said last month.
Carlsen, who declined to defend his world title in 2023 citing a lack of motivation, considers himself as the favourite for the three-day event.
“In this format (blitz and bullet). I generally consider myself pretty big favourite against anybody especially if they’re not called Hikaru Nakamura so of course it’s big to win this (game against Niemann),” he said.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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