Norwegian world chess champion Magnus Carlsen abruptly pulled out of a confrontation with American Hans Niemann on suspicion of cheating the latter in a new episode of the debate on fairness in sports.
After making one move in Monday’s match against Niemann at the Julius Baer Generation Cup online tournament, Carlsen silently withdrew from the match and turned off the camera in front of the confused commentators.
The 31-year-old world champion did not explain his move, but it is believed that his departure was another protest on his part over the behavior of an American youth who is 11 years his junior.
A week earlier, Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup in the US after losing to Niemann, considered one of the rising young stars of the chess world, but had previously admitted to cheating.
Then, in a message that was taken as a hint, Carlsen published a 2014 video clip of the famous Portuguese football coach José Mourinho, who was in charge of Chelsea at the time.
“I would prefer to remain silent,” Mourinho wrote in a letter that was seen as a protest. “If I do that, I will be in big trouble.”
The Norwegian’s refusal on Monday once again sparked controversy in the sport, with Dutch master Anish Jerry saying in an interview with Norwegian television TV2 that what happened was a “precedent”.
“I fully understand this from Magnus’ point of view because he doesn’t fully trust him (Neijmann) due to the fact that he is aware of the frequent cheats he does in online matches,” he added.
“But…when you usually face such a situation, you have to deal with it. You have to play with the hope that your opponent isn’t cheating.”
In an interview with Chase24, Armenian-American grandmaster Levon Aronian said he “understands Magnus’ frustration”, explaining: “I’m kind of in the middle. I think that Hans was not the most honest person when it comes to online chess. A young man, and we hope this will be a lesson to him.”
