A month after being accused of cheating by Magnus Carlsen, the US US chess grandmaster Hans Niemann has filed a federal lawsuit against the reigning world champion, Chess.com and others.
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The lawsuit, which seeks no less than $100 million (£89m), was filed Thursday in the Eastern Missouri District Court. It accuses the defendants of libel, slander and unlawful boycott and tortious interference of Niemann’s business.
My lawsuit speaks for itself https://t.co/rOfUxiNYCH
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) October 20, 2022
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In his filing, Niemann, 19, accuses Carlsen of launching a smear campaign against him in collaboration with Carlsen’s online chess company Play Magnus, and Chess.com, which has agreed to buy Play Magnus.
“Niemann is seeking compensation to recover from the devastating damages that defendants have inflicted upon his reputation, career, and life by egregiously defaming him and unlawfully colluding to blacklist him from the profession to which he has dedicated his life,” the lawsuit said.
It all started on September 4, when Niemann stunned Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup. The next day, Carlsen withdrew from the tournament. Next week, the Norwegian then quit a game against Niemann at the online Julius Baer Generation Cup after making just one move.
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My statement regarding the last few weeks. pic.twitter.com/KY34DbcjLo
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) September 26, 2022
Magnus Carlsen then posted a statement on Twitter in which he said he believed 19-year-old American opponent Hans Niemann “has cheated more — and more recently — than he has publicly admitted.”
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Niemann has previously admitted to cheating when playing online chess when he was 12 and 16, but has denied ever cheating over the board.
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In a 72-page investigation published on the site, Chess.com concluded that Niemann likely cheated in more than 100 online games, including some for prize money.
Carlsen has not publicly responded to Neimann’s lawsuit.
