Pressure builds on US chess prodigy over 'cheating'

An investigation into United States grandmaster Hans Niemann has found he likely cheated in at least 100 online games, further stoking an ongoing scandal that has rocked the sport.

Niemann, 19, emerged as a breakout star on the international chess circuit this year, twice-defeating reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen and rocketing up the rankings more than 2,300 places to 39th in the world.

But the teen's dazzling rise was thrown into disrepute when current world number one Carlsen accused him of cheating in a statement released last week.

Chess.com added to the allegations against him this week in a 72-page analysis of Niemann's online games between 2015 and 2020.

"Niemann has likely cheated in more than 100 online chess games, including in several prize money events, and including games that he was streaming," the website's director of news and events Peter Doggers said on Wednesday.

The investigation compared Niemann's moves to those suggested by powerful computer programs, which are superior to even the best human players.

The site also found evidence that Niemann appears to have cheated in sets of rated games against well-known figures in the chess community, including five grandmasters.

The findings are at odds with an interview Niemann gave on Sept 7, in which he admitted cheating twice in his career — once in an online cash tournament when he was 12 and again in unrated online games in order to gain rank at the age of 16.

"Other than when I was 12 years old I have never cheated in a tournament with prize money," Niemann said.

The latest Chess.com analysis found, however, that he likely cheated in cash tournaments as recently as August 2020, when he was 17 years old.

Chess.com had privately confronted Niemann with evidence of cheating earlier in his career, prompting him to step away from a "lucrative streaming career" and spend the last two years focusing on over-the-board tournaments in order to prove "I can win by myself".

But his progress in the tournaments again raised eyebrows when he became the fastest-rising top player in modern history.

Niemann shocked the chess world with two wins over Carlsen, and in their next meeting Carlsen retired after just one move, in apparent protest. In a subsequent statement the Norwegian accused Niemann of cheating "more — and more recently — than he has publicly admitted".

While the Chess.com investigation deals a fresh blow to Niemann's reputation, no concrete evidence that the player has cheated in over-the-board games has come to light.

"If there was any real evidence, why not show it," Niemann said on Twitter on Sept 8, which was around the time a number of top players, including US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, went public with their suspicions.

Some have suggested Niemann may have gained access to Carlsen's opening strategies via a leak, while others speculated the teen is receiving suggested moves from an ally, via a concealed electronic device.