On Monday, Magnus Carlsen announced that he is withdrawing from the Sinquefield Cup tournament. The decision came the day after the loss to 19-year-old Hans Niemann.
After the news broke, there has been a lot of speculation about why Carlsen has resigned.
– There are not many other possibilities here than that Magnus suspects that Hans Niemann has cheated. Magnus has never withdrawn from a tournament in his career before, even when he has played slightly ill, he has continued, explains chess journalist in Chess24, Tarjei Svendsen to TV 2 and elaborates:
– I also don’t think this is a Magnus who is a bad loser or something like that. He would never accuse someone without any proof of anything, and we don’t know exactly what’s behind this either. But the reason seems obvious.
Carlsen’s long chess loss to Niemann was his first since September 2021. The American 19-year-old has long been a promising, young player, and one of America’s leading talents.
– It is only in the last two years that he picked up speed by traveling a lot and playing in Europe. He has made extreme progress, and it has been the big talk in the chess world that he has suddenly now reached the top of the world, says Svendsen.
The Carlsen rival’s interviews are causing a stir
– Rumors about Niemann have been circulating for a long time
There has been a big debate after Carlsen’s cryptic message in connection with the tournament exit.
“I have always enjoyed playing in Sinquefield and I hope to return in the future,” Carlsen wrote and had attached a video of José Mourinho, in which the Portuguese replied in an interview that “if I say anything, I’m in big trouble.”
Arne Horvei in Magnus Carlsen Management tells TV 2 that they do not want to comment on the case.
What makes the case extra delicate, as some have pointed out, is that if there is no evidence that Niemann has cheated, then there are heavy accusations to make.
– That’s it. At the same time, if Magnus suspects that he has done something illegal, then it is understandable that he reacts in that way, says Svendsen.
Although Carlsen withdrew from the tournament, the Norwegian has not made any direct accusations against Niemann – and is unlikely to do so without concrete evidence either.
– It is clear that the burden of proof lies with Magnus. What does he have? Has he seen anything? Is it just based on a suspicion, or does he know something more specific? But the rumors about Niemann have been going around for a long time, Svendsen emphasizes.
Watch the crazy interview: – This is after he has won a game!
Come up with strange explanations after the victory
After the victory over Carlsen, questions have been asked about Niemann’s poor analysis of his own game, and his somewhat strange explanations for why he made the moves he did.
– Several people have pointed out that he did not make a particularly good impression in the analysis afterwards. He suggested a lot of weird moves and made a bit of a fool of himself there. But that doesn’t prove anything. It only adds to the grounds for suspicion, says Svendsen.
– There are some who point out that Niemann has been caught cheating in online chess in the past. Has it been verified?
– There is never one hundred percent verification, but the chess websites have gradually developed very good methods for exactly that. As far as I know, Niemann has also accepted the ban he has had. There is no doubt that he was banned for cheating. At the same time, cheating online is something completely different from cheating in a regular public board chess tournament.
