Show of Hans

Hans Niemann is back. The American grandmaster drew worldwide attention last year when he was alleged to have cheated by Magnus Carlsen. Niemann responded with a $100 million defamation lawsuit against various parties. That was dismissed by a federal judge in June, though Niemann could still have pursued some of his claims in a state court.

But in late August, the website Chess.com (one of the defendants) released a joint statement with Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen to move on from the issue. What a delicate compromise it was! Chess.com reinstated Niemann to their platform, but stood by their October 2022 report, which set out the case that Niemann had cheated extensively online. Carlsen acknowledged the report, ‘including the statement that there is no determinative evidence that Niemann cheated in his game against me at the Sinquefield Cup’. He also stated that he is willing to play Niemann in future events. Niemann made it clear that the issue was resolved. And they all lived happily ever after.

Or perhaps not. One need hardly read between the lines to see the phrase ‘no determinative evidence’ as a sign that Carlsen does not wish to retract his allegation. Just days after the statement, he made an oblique comment which appeared to hint that he still regards Niemann as a bad influence (while avoiding naming him directly).

The partial rapprochement must be welcome to Niemann, but the controversy will linger. While streaming on Twitch, he challenged Vladimir Kramnik to a casual blitz game on Chess.com. Niemann expressed great admiration for the former world champion, before outplaying him in a Ruy Lopez Berlin endgame (see below).

In the second game, Kramnik displayed his disgust by inviting Fool’s Mate (1 e4 f6 2 d4 g5), whereupon Niemann resigned instead of executing the mate with 3 Qh5#. Not long after, Kramnik released a video about the first game, explaining that it had made a puzzling impression on him, with an insinuation that something might be amiss.