Accused of massive cheating, Hans Niemann advances his pawns.
The American chess player filed a complaint Thursday, October 20, against those who accuse him - including his Norwegian rival Magnus Carlsen - claiming 100 million dollars in damages.
The 19-year-old – a prodigy, according to those close to him – has filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in Missouri against the five-time world champion and other players in the chess world, including the chess.com platform. , whom he accuses of "defamation" and "collusion".
Their allegations "nipped in the bud his remarkable career and ruined his life", write his lawyers in this complaint consulted by AFP.
Hans Niemann has been excluded from many competitions and "can no longer get jobs as a chess teacher in serious schools", they assure.
This complaint is the most remarkable act of the young chess master since the outbreak of the "biggest scandal in the history of chess", according to the expression used by his lawyers to designate this case.
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“Carlsen took revenge by accusing him without proof”
It all started on September 5 when the young American beat the Norwegian star in the Sinquefield Cup in the United States.
Magnus Carlsen then withdrew from the tournament, accusing him in a veiled way of cheating.
His claims were later echoed by US player Hikaru Nakamura and the world's leading online chess platform, chess.com, who claimed the young grandmaster "probably cheated" at least 100 times online.
In his complaint, Hans Niemann accuses his detractors of having acted in a concerted manner out of financial interest.
"Fearing that the young prodigy would endanger his multi-millionaire brand by inflicting further defeats on him, Carlsen took revenge by accusing him without proof," write his lawyers.
Magnus Carlsen has, they say, benefited from the support of the site chess.com because he is in the process of selling his company Play Magnus to them for 83 million dollars.
As for Hikaru Nakamura, "he is the most influential streaming partner of chess.com", they assure.
Hans Niemann admitted to cheating on chess.com when he was between 12 and 16 years old, but denied having continued and said he was "ready to play naked" to prove his talent.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) opened an investigation on September 29 to shed light on this affair.
With AFP
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