Magnus Carlsen finally broke his ascetic silence on the cheating scandal involving Hans Niemann, the teenage chess prodigy from America. Carlsen knew the period of silence needed to end soon, as he was the one who insinuated the allegations of cheating against Niemann.
On Monday, the Norwegian chess champion came up with an in-depth explanation behind why he resigned halfway through his clash against Niemann last week. Carlsen wrote that he found Niemann’s progress in the game, which the latter won, very unusual. Additionally, he noted that the American was not even concentrating on the game.
“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,” Carlsen wrote.
Niemann has admitted cheating twice in an online game, when he was 13 and 16, but has categorically denied any wrongdoings in his game against Carlsen. He also got support from Kenneth Regan, a professor who specializes in catching cheaters in chess. Regan said he didn’t find any pattern in Niemann’s play to suggest that he was aided by a computer.
Last month, Carlsen, after losing to Niemann at the Sinquefield Cup, posted an old clip of Roma manager Jose Mourinho saying “If I speak, I am in big trouble. And I don’t want to be in big trouble.”
They met again a few days later when Carlsen left the game just after one move at Julius Baer Generation Cup. While the whole saga has rocked the chess world, the upside is that the game, which always had a very niche audience, is getting widespread coverage.
Niemann has also got support from Scottish GM Jacob Aagaard, who wrote a very polemical piece on his blog, where he questioned the good boy image of Carlsen. Aagaard wrote Carlsen doesn’t want to lose to Niemann because the latter, unlike some other name, never bows down to the king. He wants to demolish the edifice of Carlsen, as he had said on numerous occasions.
When Niemann was asked if he takes any advice from Carlsen, he said, “If I ask him for advice, he would think he is better than me. I want him to feel that I will be better than him one day. I don’t want to give him that psychological edge of fear. Magnus’ edge comes from his opponents being afraid of him.”
Not often the nerdy, restricted world of chess attracts so many casuals. For someone like me who doesn’t really have the mental capacity to process the game, the feud between Carlsen and Niemann has kept me intrigued from the very beginning. Carlsen has played his move, and now it’s for Niemann to show what he has in the store.
Lead Image: Grand Chess Tour
