A new 72-page report claimed that American chess player Hans Mok Niemann likely cheated more than 100 times in online games.
The report from Chess.com found that he broke the rules in tournaments as recently as 2020. The document, which was obtained by the Wall Street Journal, noted "many remarkable signals and unusual patterns" in Niemann's path as a player. It also noted he privately confessed to the online chess gaming platform that he had cheated on many occasions. He was also banned from the site. The report said that many of the tournaments that the site said Niemann cheated in included cash prizes.
This comes after Niemann made headlines last month when current world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, 31, suggested that Niemann was a cheater. This led to rumors that the 19-year-old was using vibrating anal beads to communicate with his coach. He denied the accusations and said that he cheated only twice in his life. The first time was when he was 12 years old and the second when he was 16. Both violations of law were some of the greatest regrets of his life.
The new report focused only on Niemann's online games. It did not comment on the integrity of his over-the-board, in person play, reported Daily Mail. The report read that outside his online play, Niemann is the "fastest rising top player in Classical (over-the-board) chess in modern history."
It also said that looking purely at rating, he should be classified as a "member of this group of top young players." The report added that while they don't doubt that he is a "talented player, we note that his results are statistically extraordinary." Niemann is yet to comment on the report's findings.
A letter explained his expulsion from Chess.com in 2020. In the letter, the site's chief chess officer Danny Rensch described "blatant cheating" against some of the world's top chess players. He added that there always remained "serious concerns about how rampant your cheating was in prize events."
Rensch remained mum on anal beads, but suggested that Niemann took help of a computer to advise him on moves during a livestreamed match on the site. He wrote that they are prepared to present "strong statistical evidence that confirm each of those cases above, as well as clear 'toggling' vs 'non-toggling' evidence, where you perform much better while toggling to a different screen during your moves." Rensch was describing how during the livestream, Niemann seemed to look at a separate screen at the same moments he made suspicious moves.
During a Sept. 19 match against Niemann, Carlsen resigned after a single move. He said that he refused to play against the alleged cheater to preserve the game of chess.
Amid the anal beads rumor, Niemann offered to play in the nude to prove his innocence. He said that he has "never cheated in an over-the-board game. If they want me to strip fully naked, I will do it."
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