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Hans Niemann spoke out about allegations of cheating at a chess tournament, but did not convince Elon Musk

Chess player Hans Niemann has spoken out about allegations of cheating during a match against GM Magnus Carlsen, whom he beat, breaking his winning streak and forcing him to retire from the tournament. He stated that he did not cheat against his opponent and would not allow anyone to tarnish his reputation. The scandal caused a stir on social media, according to The Wall Street Journal. Even Elon Musk commented on what is happening.

On September 5, the reigning world chess champion Norwegian Magnus Carlsen lost with white pieces to 19-year-old American Hans Niemann in the third round of the Sinquefield Cup tournament with a prize fund of $350,000. The loss interrupted his streak of more than 50 winning games. After that, Carlsen announced that he was withdrawing from the tournament and instead of explaining the reasons, he posted a video with the famous football coach José Mourinho, who says: “If I speak out, I will have problems. I do not want problems".

The cryptic tweet immediately raised suspicions of fraud against Niemann. The tournament management increased security, the broadcast of the fourth round was delayed for 15 minutes, and Niemann was thoroughly searched before the start of the game, but nothing was found. In addition, there were rumors that before the Sinquefield Cup, unknown people hacked into the computer with Carlsen's pre-tournament theoretical developments. Niemann's cheating on his streams was also hinted at by grandmaster and streamer Hikaru Nakamura, who claimed that Niemann was banned from Chess.com many years ago for using a computer in an online tournament.

On September 7, Niemann gave an interview to Chess24, where, among other things, he spoke about the accusations.

“When I see people attacking me without any evidence, I want to say: I am the only person who knows what happened and I am telling the truth. I did not cheat against my opponent, and some players who hint that I am playing dishonestly are not so innocent in themselves, ”Niemann said.

Curiously, he confirmed Nakamura's claims of cheating in the past, admitting that he did cheat at several Chess.com tournaments, but called it a mistake. He revealed that he was 16 years old at the time, he was trying to raise his rating, and added that he was really remorseful.

"I will not let Chess.com, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura - perhaps the three biggest figures in chess - tarnish my reputation," he concluded, and called on Nakamura and others to provide evidence of his foul play.

Immediately after Carlsen's departure and Niemann's suspicions, many chess players expressed their opinion on Chess24 about what was happening, with the majority either doubting the accusations or not supporting them. Chess player Levon Aronian stated: “Often when young players play very well, accusations are made against them. All my colleagues are pretty much paranoid, and I often remind them of this.” Lawrence Trent commented "I watched the whole game, there was nothing special about the way Hans played."

After the interview, the support for the young chess player intensified. Grandmaster Jacob Aagard, the 2007 British champion, called the whole thing a "witch hunt". But Elon Musk reacted to the scandal with ridicule: “Talent hits a target no one can hit, genius hits a target no one sees (because it’s in your ass),” he wrote in a now-deleted tweet, citing a mocking version that Niemann defeated Carlsen with a sex device that controlled his actions. “The funniest version is the most likely,” Musk added.

Now the organizers of the tournament are conducting an internal investigation. According to The Guardian, the percentage of online comments with accusations against Niemann has dropped from 90% to 60-40%. Users are increasingly turning to Magnus Carlsen to make a fuller statement and clarify his mysterious tweet.

Hans Niemann spoke out about allegations of cheating at a chess tournament, but did not convince Elon Musk