Chess star Hans Niemann sued for fraud

A 19-year-old chess grandmaster is searching for $100 million in a federal lawsuit during which a rival chess participant and others destroyed his profession with false accusations of dishonest, upending an issue that has roiled the chess world since September.

Hans Niemann filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Courtroom in St. Louis in opposition to chess world champion Magnus Carlsen, alleging that Niemann cheated throughout his upset victory over Carlsen on the Sinquefield Cup match in St. Louis.

Neiman is searching for damages from Carlson; Carlson’s firm Play Magnus Group; on-line chess website Chess.com; Hikaru Nakamura, an American grandmaster who’s an influential streaming accomplice of Chess.com; and Chess.com government Danny Renshaw.

It alleges that the defendants labored collectively to libel and defame Niemann after his Cinquefield Cup win.

“Regardless of the falsity of Defendants’ allegations, Defendants’ malicious defamation and illegal collusion, by design, destroyed Nieman’s exceptional profession at its prime and ruined his life,” in line with the swimsuit.

Neiman says he has been banned from tournaments, canceled matches and that prestigious chess colleges will not rent him due to the false allegations.

The lawsuit claims that Carlsen is searching for to guard his standing because the “King of Chess” and full a cope with Chess.com to amass Play Magnus for about $83 million.

Carlsen – a 31-year-old world champion who is mostly thought of one of many best chess gamers of all time – has not commented on his social media posts concerning the case. His supervisor, Henrik Carlsen, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Friday.

Attorneys Nima Mohebbi and Jamie Wine stated in a press release posted on Chess.com’s web site that Nieman’s lawsuit will hurt the sport of chess, its gamers and its followers.

“Hans’ allegations don’t have any benefit, and Chess.com appears to be like ahead to setting the report straight on behalf of his group and all sincere chess gamers,” in line with the assertion.

After Neiman’s shock victory over Carlsen on the Sinquefield Cup, Carlsen abruptly withdrew from the match and every week later stopped taking part in after taking only one transfer in opposition to Neiman on the Julius Baer Era Cup.

Niemann beforehand admitted to dishonest whereas taking part in on-line chess at ages 12 and 16, however has since denied dishonest and stated he by no means cheated throughout in-person matches.

On September 26, Carlsen stated in a press release on Twitter that he believed Nieman had “deceited extra — and extra lately — than he has publicly admitted.”

However Carlsen supplied no proof of Neiman’s fraud. The lawsuit claims a number of unbiased sources and specialists have discovered no proof in opposition to Carlsen that he cheated in any of his video games, together with the Sinquefield Cup.

In a press release launched in September, the president of the Worldwide Chess Federation, Arkady Dvorkovich, stated the governing physique shared Carlsen’s “deep concern concerning the injury to chess attributable to dishonest” and was “prepared to analyze the incidents when ample prima facie proof is offered”.