Aug. 29 (UPI) — The legal dispute involving a teenage chess prodigy who was accused of cheating with vibrating sex toys during a tournament in Missouri last year concluded on Monday.
Hans Niemann, 19, achieved victory over the Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, 31, in a chess match, leading to accusations, including from other chess grandmasters, that he had cheated, according to a lawsuit obtained by UPI. The lawsuit was filed against Chess.com, Carlsen, and others.
“Shortly after those events, Chess.com privately closed Niemann’s account and published an investigative report about Hans Niemann’s play,” Chess.com said in a statement on Monday. Chess.com, the leading platform for online gameplay, had suspended Niemann after the accusations were made.
“Since June, both sides have privately negotiated in good faith to resolve their problems and allow the chess world to move forward without further litigation. We are pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached by all parties,” Chess.com added in the statement.
The statement acknowledged that each entity involved has its own “opinions about the events surrounding the controversy and they agree they should each be able to express their views openly.”
Chess.com stated that Niemann has been fully reinstated, emphasizing that there is “no conclusive evidence” that he cheated in any in-person games.
The organization released a statement from Carlsen where the grandmaster admitted to the lack of evidence indicating Niemann cheated in last year’s Sinquefield Cup matchup.
“I am willing to play Niemann in future events, should we be paired together,” Carlsen said.
Niemann expressed in a statement that the lawsuit has been resolved “in a mutually acceptable manner” and he looks forward to returning to Chess.com.
“As Hans returns to Chess.com, he will be allowed to participate in any and all events and will be treated no differently from any other player,” the organization assured.
“Chess.com always retains the right to open and close accounts based on our judgment, and we take that responsibility seriously.”
The lawsuit also involved the American chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, who made several comments on Twitch implying that Niemann may have had a history of online cheating.
However, it did not include Canadian grandmaster Eric Hansen’s Twitch feed ChessBrah, archived by Twitter users, where he alleged that Niemann had used sex toys to cheat.
Instead, the lawsuit primarily focused on Carlsen, who Niemann claimed “viciously and maliciously retaliated” against him for defeating him.
“Carlsen’s unprecedented actions, coupled with his unfounded accusations, sent shockwaves through the chess world and instantly made Niemann a central figure in what is now widely reported as the biggest chess scandal in history,” the lawsuit stated.
“In the end, experts concluded that Carlsen lost the match due to his particularly poor play rather than any exceptional play by Niemann,” the lawsuit added.
