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The chess prodigy accused of cheating with vibrating anal beads has declared: ‘I’m not going to back down,’ after winning a US championship game in which he was required to undergo a body scan before playing.
Hans Niemann, 19, was accused of cheating by chess world champion Magnus Carlsen last month after the teen managed to beat the Norwegian – widely considered to be the world’s best chess player – seemingly without concentrating.
Then Chess.com earlier this week published a lengthy report claiming Niemann had ‘likely’ cheated in more than 100 online games, including in several cash-prize tournaments – though had no evidence to suggest he’d cheated in over-the-board (OTB), in-person matches.
Niemann previously declared he would play naked to prove doubters wrong after rumours suggested he could have used vibrating anal beads, controlled by a third-party, to determine the best moves to make in his match against Carlsen.
But footage emerged yesterday of the prodigy being held outside his US Championship game and forced to stand to attention as a security official performed an all-over body scan with a handheld detector.
Niemann’s scan endured considerably longer than those of other contestants and the guard even turned him around to scan his behind – prompting laughter from commentators.
The 19-year-old, who did not look pleased about the scan, went on to win his first-round match against a 15-year-old opponent before taking to the mic in a post-match interview and hitting out at critics.
‘This game is a message to everyone. This entire thing started with me saying ”chess speaks for itself” and I think this game spoke for itself and showed the chess player I am.
‘It also showed I’m not going to back down and I’m going to play my best chess here regardless of the pressure.’
The 19-year-old was forced to submit to a body scan, along with other contestants, at the US championship
It comes after he was accused of cheating using vibrating anal beads
‘This game is a message to everyone. This entire thing started with me saying ”chess speaks for itself” and I think this game spoke for itself and showed the chess player I am. It also showed I’m not going to back down,’ Niemann said after winning a US championship game
A clearly frustrated Niemann quickly cut the post-match interview short, telling the interviewer: ‘You can leave it to your own interpretation but thank you, that’s it’
Norwegian chess player Magnus Carlsen, widely considered to be one of the world’s greatest, accused Niemann of cheating
A clearly frustrated Niemann quickly cut the interview short, telling the interviewer: ‘You can leave it to your own interpretation but thank you, that’s it,’ before walking out, much to the incredulity of commentators.
His post match interview was the first time since September 7 that Niemann had publicly spoken on allegations of cheating.
He initially protested his innocence amid speculation from Carlsen and the chess community that he had cheated in their game, admitting he had done so twice before as a youngster but had learned from his mistakes and vowed not to do it again.
There is no evidence to suggest Niemann has cheated in any OTB games.
However, an extensive investigation into Neimann’s online play by Chess.com found he likely broke the rules in tournaments as recently as 2020, noting ‘many remarkable signals and unusual patterns in Hans’ path as a player’, according to a 72-page report.
The document alleged Niemann likely received assistance in more than 100 online games using illegal computer aids.
It also showed that the prodigy privately confessed to Chess.com he had cheated on numerous occasions, while it also revealed that he was banned from the site – though this was never made public.
The report states that Niemann confessed his cheating to Chess.com COO Danny Rensch during a Zoom call, and afterwards in writing during a Slack chat.
Many of the tournaments Chess.com said Niemann cheated in included cash prizes, the report said, including Chess.com prize events, Speed Chess Championship Qualifiers, and the PRO Chess League.
It is unclear how much prize money Neimann has won in his short career.
Niemann beat chess world champion Carlsen on September 4 in the prestigious Sinquefield Cup, the infamous tournament in which the 19-year-old was accused of using vibrating anal beads to communicate with his coach.
Niemann virulently denied Carlsen’s accusations, saying that he cheated only twice in his life – at the age of 12 and 16 – and that both infractions were some of the greatest regrets of his life.
‘Other than when I was 12 years old, I have never, ever, ever – and I would never do that, that is the worst thing that I could ever do – cheat in a tournament with prize money,’ Niemann said afterwards.
‘Never when I was streaming did I cheat.’
‘Keep in mind I was 16 years old, I never wanted to hurt anyone, these were random games. I would never – could even fathom doing it – in a real game.’
The damning report comes after Niemann made headlines in September when chess champion Magnus Carlsen (pictured) suggested Niemann was a cheater, which culminated in rumors the 19-year-old was using vibrating anal beads to communicate with his coach
Professional chess player Hans Niemann in a photo from his Instagram page
The Chess.com report seemed to cast aspersions on Niemann’s denials, calling the September 4 game ‘suspicious’ and adding ‘that Hans’ explanation of his win post-event added to our suspicion.’
‘As to his OTB play more generally… we believe [there] are apparent anomalies in Hans’ rise in OTB rating.
‘Of note, we discuss how Hans became the fastest rising top player in Classical OTB chess in modern recorded history much later in life than his peers and did it after we had removed him from playing on our site in 2020.’
That said, it admitted that there was ‘no direct evidence that proves Hans cheated at the September 4, 2022 game with Magnus, or proves that he has cheated in other OTB [over the board] games in the past.’
Chess.com explained that they applied statistical analysis to Niemann’s games, comparing his moves to those a chess engine would make in the same position. A high correlation between the two strongly points towards cheating.
‘Some, often newer, players use a chess engine like Stockfish to decide every move they make. This form of cheating is obvious and easy to detect,’ the report states.
‘Other players, especially those that play at Hans’ level, are much more sophisticated, and engage in ‘selective cheating,’ using a chess engine to give advice only in key moments, and often intentionally making sub-par moves to mask their engine use.’
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