Magnus Carlsen, longtime world number one in chess, made an out-of-court agreement with American grandmaster Hans Niemann, whom he considered a fraud, and refused to play with him.
The 20-year-old chess player has demanded $100 million (2.2 billion crowns) in compensation from the Norwegian phenom and his company Play Magnus, the online platform Chess.com and the current world number two and most popular chess player. streamer Hikaru Nakamura due to damage to his reputation.
But now all parties have agreed to drop the case, according to a joint statement on Chess.com.
“We have agreed with Hans Niemann that we will leave disputes in the past and continue to walk a common path,” said representatives of the Chess.com platform, which is the largest online chess game and hosts a number of prestigious tournaments for elite players. .
“Hans can play with us again and we look forward to having him in our tournaments,” they added.
This was also one of the reasons why Niemann demanded high compensation. Because of this case, he lost several profitable opportunities.
The Chess.com server excluded him from the online Chess Global Championships tournament with a one million dollar subsidy, and the organizers of the “Chess Wimbledon” in Wijk aan Zee canceled his invitation.
“I’m glad that my lawsuit ended in an agreement acceptable to all parties. I would rather compete with Magnus at the chessboard than in court,” said Niemann, who dropped from 40th place in the world rankings to 77th since the start of the tournament. . happening.
The controversy surrounding Niman has dragged on since September last year. American at the prestigious Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis. Louis beat Carlsen in a game of classical chess, even with black pieces, and the world No. 1 subsequently withdrew from the tournament.
In addition, two weeks later, the 32-year-old Norwegian made another revealing gesture when he resigned a game in a row after his second move in an online Champions Chess Tour tournament.
Later, Carlsen accused Nieman of cheating much more often than immediately after the tournament in St. Petersburg. Louis confessed.
The American chess player confirmed cheating in two online tournaments on the Chess.com server several years ago, when he was not yet a grandmaster. Then he repeatedly apologized for his actions.
Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Reuters
A year ago, attention was drawn to an extensive analysis by Chess.com, which suspects Niemann of cheating in online games on more than a hundred occasions. A number of suspects appeared in 2020, that is, much later than the American admitted.
But the conclusions of the paper emphasize that in the games played live at the chessboard, the analysis revealed nothing significantly out of the ordinary. Also, the mechanism that the server uses to detect cheaters is not specialized for classic games.
“I take note of the analysis that there is no clear evidence that Niemann cheated in our play at the Sinquefield Cup. I am ready to play against him in the future,” Carlsen said. He himself did not provide any concrete evidence of the American’s guilt.
A sharp duel between the two players could take place today in an online tournament on Chess.com called Titled Tuesday, which regularly hosts a number of world-class players every week, including Carlsen.