World chess champion Magnus Carlsen has accused his rival Hans Niemann, of cheating, in a statement that he put out on social media. In the statement, Carlsen goes on to say that he will never play against the American teenager anymore. Recently, Carlsen resigned from the Julius Baer Generation Cup after one move against Niemann, who is approximately 200 Elo points behind him.
Elo points is the rating system used to determine the relative skill levels of players.
"So far I have only been able to speak about my actions, and those actions have stated clearly that I am not willing to play chess with Niemann," Carlsen said in a statement on Twitter.
Carlsen, who has been the world champion since 2013, also withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Missouri after unexpectedly losing to the 19-year-old, sparking a furore of comments and allegations that Niemann had cheated. Niemann has denied any wrongdoing in over-the-board games.
"When Niemann was invited last minute to the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, I strongly considered withdrawing prior to the event. I ultimately chose to play," Carlsen said.
"I believe that Niemann has cheated more — and more recently — than he has publicly admitted," Carlsen said on Monday.
"His over-the-board progress has been unusual, and throughout our game, in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he wasn't tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions while outplaying me as black in a way I think only a handful of players can do."
Recently, the American has revealed that he had cheated online twice when he was 12 and 16 but reiterated that he never played fraudulently in a face-to-face match and is even willing to play nude to prove his good faith. "I have never cheated in an over-the-board game. If they want me to strip fully naked, I will do it. I don't care. Because I know I am clean," he said.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) said last week it shared the Norwegian's concerns about cheating in the sport.
"Chess organisers and all those who care about the sanctity of the game we love should seriously consider increasing security measures and methods of cheat detection for over-the-board chess," Carlsen added. "We must do something about cheating, and for my part going forward, I don't want to play against people that have repeatedly cheated in the past, because I don't know what they are capable of doing in the future."
